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LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

PRINCETON.  N.  J. 


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Division.. 


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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2019  with  funding  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


https://archive.org/details/bloodrevengewarvOOkars 


* 


SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION 


BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS 
AMONG  THE  JIBARO  INDIANS 
OF  EASTERN  ECUADOR 


BY 

v/ 

RAFAEL  KARSTEN 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 
1923 


ADDITIONAL  COPIES 

OF  THIS  PUBLICATION  MAY  BE  PROCURED  FROM 
THE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  DOCUMENTS 
GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

AT 

60  CENTS  PER  COPY 

PURCHASER  AGREES  NOT  TO  RESELL  OR  DISTRIBUTE  THIS 
COPY  FOR  PROFIT— PUB.  RES.  57,  APPROVED  MAY  11,  1922 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL 


Smithsonian  Institution, 

Bureau  of  American  Ethnology, 

Washihgton ,  D.  C .,  February  1 ,  1921. 

Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  the  manuscript  of  a 
paper  entitled  “  Blood  revenge,  war,  and  victory  feasts  among  the 
Jibaro  Indians  of  Eastern  Ecuador,”  by  Rafael  Karsten,  and  to 
recommend  its  publication,  subject  to  your  approval,  as  a  bulletin 
of  this  bureau. 

Very  respectfully, 

J.  Walter  Fewkes,  Chief. 

Dr.  Charles  D.  Walcott, 

Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 


hi 


. 

■ 

“ 


* 


CONTENTS 


Page. 

Introduction _  1 

Means  of  defense _ 3 

Chiefs  and  wars _ _  7 

Causes  of  the  wars _  8 

How  the  feuds  and  wars  are  carried  out _  16 

The  head  trophy  ( tsantsa )  and  its  preparation _  28 

Numbuimartinyu,  “  the  washing  of  the  blood  ” _  35 

Suamartinyu,  “the  feast  of  painting  with  genipa  ( sua )” _  43 

The  tsantsa  feast — einsupani _ _  48 

The  dance  wuimenshi _  51 

The  preparation  of  the  manioc  beer  ( niham&nchi )  and  the  manioc 

wine  (sangucha  shiki) _ _  56 

The  first  day  of  the  feast:  Utsandowai,  “  The  feast  is  opened” _  62 

The  second  day  of  the  feast :  Natema  umdrtinyu,  “  The  drinking  of 

the  natema  ” _  70 

The  third  day  of  the  feast :  Nihantsa  nihdrtinyu,  “  The  washing  of 

the  tsantsa  ” _  73 

The  slaughter  of  the  swine :  Cuchi  achiktahei  mdtinyu _  80 

The  last  day  of  the  feast :  Nambera  shidkma,  “  The  feast  is  con¬ 
cluded  ” _  83 

Concluding  remarks  on  the  tsantsa  feast _  87 

Index _  91 


v 


" 

\ 


. 


s 


■ 

. 

. 

*  I 


■  . 


. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Page. 

Plate  1.  a.  An  unfortified  Jibaro  house,  b.  The  interior  of  a  Jibaro 

house _  4 

2.  A  trap  in  the  virgin  forest _ 4 

3.  a.  Jibaro  men.  b.  Jibaro  women _  8 

4.  a.  Jibaro  youths,  b.  A  Jibaro  warrior _  8 

5.  a.  Jibaro  warriors  engaged  in  the  ceremonial  salutation,  b.  The 

priest,  assisted  by  some  other  men,  roasting  the  manioc _  20 

6.  A  human  head  trophy  (tsantsa) _  20 

7.  The  victor,  carrying  the  tsantsa  on  the  breast,  makes  his  first  en¬ 

trance  into  the  house _ 62 

8.  a.  The  arriving  guest  is  entertained  with  manioc  beer  by  the 

wife  of  the  host.  b.  Arrangements  for  the  washing  of  the 
tsantsa _  62 

9.  a.  The  “  washing  of  the  tsantsa.”  b.  The  women  dance  around 

the  men  while  the  tsantsa  is  being  washed _  78 

10.  a.  Jibaro  man  and  woman  in  dancing  dress,  b.  Dancing  Jibaro 

man  and  woman _ 78 


VII 


/ 


■ 

. 


* 


BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS 
AMONG  THE  JIBARO  INDIANS  OF  EASTERN 
ECUADOR 


By  Rafael  Karsten 


INTRODUCTION 

The  Jibaro  Indians,  who  in  their  own  language  are  called  Shuara , 
inhabit  the  virgin  forests  around  the  great  rivers  Pastaza,  Morona, 
Upano-Santiago  and  their  affluents,  regions  politically  divided  be¬ 
tween  the  Republics  of  Ecuador  and  Peru,  and  still  form  one  of 
the  most  numerous  and  most  important  Indian  tribes  of  South 
America.  Although  some  Jibaros  live  in  parts  of  the  country  to 
which  no  white  man  has  yet  penetrated,  their  present  total  number 
can  without  exaggeration  be  estimated  at  fifteen  or  twenty  thousand. 
The  Jibaros  are  divided  into  a  number  of  smaller  tribes  which  are 
generally  hostile  to  each  other.  They  have  no  uniform  tribal  or¬ 
ganization  and  do  not  recognize  any  common  political  authority. 
This  division  also  stamps  their  social  institutions  and  customs,  which 
are  somewhat  different  among  different  tribes.  Against  the  whites 
the  Jibaros  have,  in  critical  times,  been  able  to  maintain  them¬ 
selves  as  a  united  and  homogeneous  nation.  The  best  proof  of  this 
is  the  general  insurrection  which,  on  account  of  the  oppression  of 
the  Spaniards,  was  carried  out  in  1599  by  all  tribes  living  on  the 
Upano,  Paute,  Santiago,  and  Morona,  and  at  which  the  majority 
of  the  white  population  in  the  flourishing  villages  Sevilla  de  Oro, 
Logrono,  and  Mendoza  were  massacred  by  the  Indians.  Since  that 
time  the  whites  have,  on  the  whole,  left  the  Jibaros  unmolested,  but 
between  themselves  they  have  continued  those  destructive  Avars  which 
more  than  anything  else  have  contributed  to  the  diminution  of  the 
Jibaro  race. 

The  Jibaros  no  doubt  at  present  are  the  most  warlike  of  all  In¬ 
dian  tribes  in  South  America.  The  wars,  the  blood-feuds  within  the 
tribes,  and  the  wars  of  extermination  between  the  different  tribes 
are  continuous,  being  nourished  by  their  superstitious  belief  in 
witchcraft.  These  wars  are  the  greatest  turse  of  the  Jibaros  and 
are  felt  to  be  so  even  by  themselves,  at  least  so  far  as  the  feuds 
within  the  tribes  are  concerned.  On  the  other  hand,  the  wars  are  to 

1 


2 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


such  a  degree  one  with  their  whole  life  and  essence  that  only  pow¬ 
erful  pressure  from  outside  or  a  radical  change  of  their  whole 
character  and  moral  views  could  make  them  abstain  from  them. 
This  one  may  judge  even  from  the  fact  that  from  a  victory  over 
his  enemies  the  Jibaro  warrior  not  only  expects  honor  and  fame 
in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word  but  also  certain  material  benefits. 
The  head  trophy  which  he  takes  from  his  slain  enemy  is  not  merely 
a  token  of  victory,  but  becomes  a  fetish  charged  with  supernatural 
power,  and  the  great  victory  feast  itself  with  its  many  mysterious 
ceremonies,  in  fact,  forms  a  part  of  the  practical  religion  or  cult 
of  the  Jibaros. 

The  education  of  the  boys  among  the  Jibaros  first  of  all  aims 
at  making  them  brave  and  skillful  warriors.  When  a  Jibaro  has 
enemies  on  whom  he  wants  to  take  revenge  for  offences  and  out¬ 
rages,  perhaps  committed  long  ago,  but  despairs  of  being  able  to  do 
it  himself,  he  systematically  tries  to  awaken  and  maintain  hatred 
against  them  in  his  young  sons  by  discourses  directed  to  them  every 
day.  “  The  Shuara  So-and-so  killed  my  father,  my  grandfather,  my 
brothers,  while  I  was  a  child,  carried  off  my  mother,  my  sisters, 
and  burnt  our  house.  This  blood  guilt  is  not  yet  washed  off.  It  is 
the  duty  of  you,  my  sons,  to  avenge  this  crime  and  to  kill  the  enemy 
or  his  sons,  who  are  still  threatening  our  family.  If  you  do  this, 
blessing  and  good  luck  will  follow  you  in  all  your  undertakings; 
you  will  have  a  long  life  and  be  able  to  kill  many  other  enemies; 
your  plantations  will  be  richly  fruit-bearing ;  your  domestic  animals, 
the  swine  and  the  chicken,  will  prosper  and  grow  numerous;  there 
will  never  be  lack  of  food  in  your  house,”  etc.  This  discourse  is, 
at  times,  repeated  every  morning  when  the  house  father  gets  up,  and 
with  about  the  same  words;  and,  of  course,  can  not  fail  to  make  an 
impression  upon  the  minds  of  the  young  ones. 

When  a  Jibaro  chief  goes  on  a  war  expedition  he  often  takes  his 
young  sons  with  him  in  order  that  they  may  early  learn  the  art  of 
war  and  get  accustomed  to  the  bloody  scenes  which  take  place. 

When  a  boy  reaches  the  age  of  puberty  and  is  to  be  received  among 
the  full-grown  men,  a  feast  is  made  in  his  honor  which  is  called 
kusupani  and  which  chiefly  consists  in  ceremonies  with  tobacco. 
After  the  feast,  which  lasts  three  or  four  days,  he  is  obliged  to  take 
a  narcotic  drink,  called  maikoa ,  prepared  from  the  rind  of  the  bush 
Datura  arborea.  This  bush  seems  to  have  much  the  same  poisonous 
properties  as  belladonna  or  opium,  and  the  drink  prepared  from  its 
rind  has  the  power  of  completely  narcotizing  the  Indian  as  well  as 
awakening  within  him  peculiar  visions  and  hallucinations  which  are 
ascribed  to  certain  spirits.  The  most  important  of  these  spirits  are 
the  so-called  arutama  (“  the  old  ones  ”)  which  are  in  their  nature  the 


KARSTEN] 


BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS 


3 


souls  of  the  ancestors.  These  appear  in  all  sorts  of  terrible  shapes, 
as  tigers,  eagles,  giant  snakes,  and  other  wild  animals,  or  reveal  their 
presence  in  stupendous  phenomena  of  nature,  in  the  lightning,  in  the 
rainbow,  in  meteors,  etc.  They  speak  to  the  young  Jibaro  and  ad¬ 
vise  and  teach  him  in  all  kinds  of  manly  businesses,  but  first  of  all 
m  warlike  deeds.  Only  the  Jibaro  youth  who  has  seen  the  arutama 
in  the  dream  and  has  been  spoken  to  by  them  can  expect  to  become  a 
valiant  and  successful  warrior,  to  kill  many  enemies,  and  himself 
secure  long  life.  When  afterwards  in  real  life  he  meets  a  tiger, 
an  eagle,  a  boa  serpent,  or  some  other  wild  animal  he  shows  no  fright 
and  does  not  flee,  but  bravely  challenges  it  with  his  lance.  Simi¬ 
larly  in  the  fight  he  without  fear  meets  his  enemy. 

Even  older  warriors  who  want  to  know  who  their  enemies  are  and 
whether  in  a  war  against  them  they  will  be  victorious  are  in  the  habit 
of  drinking  either  maikoa  or  another  narcotic  drink,  prepared  from 
the  stem  of  the  vine  Banisteria  caapi  and  called  natema.  Maikoa , 
the  effects  of  which  are  much  stronger,  is,  however,  the  particular 
narcotic  of  warriors.  If  one  asks  a  Jibaro  why  he  drinks  maikoa 
he  generally  answers:  “  I  do  it  in  order  to  kill  my  enemies  ”  ( Shuara 
matinyu).  The  Jibaro  warrior  generally  receives  the  revelations  of 
the  spirits  while  sleeping  alone  in  the  virgin  forest  in  a  small  ranch 
made  of  palm  leaves,  usually  situated  many  miles  away  from  the  hab¬ 
itations  of  the  Indians. 

MEANS  OF  DEFENSE 

That  the  Jibaros  are  professional  warriors  also  appears  from  the 
way  in  which  they  construct  their  houses  and  from  the  defensive 
measures  to  which  they  have  recourse  when  particularly  threatened 
by  their  enemies.  The  Jibaros,  like  other  Indian  tribes  inhabiting 
the  virgin  forests  of  Amazonas,  do  not  live  in  villages  but  in  sundry 
large  communal  houses  in  which  several  families  of  near  relations 
may  find  room.  Such  a  house  (called  hea)  is  generally  situated  on 
a  high  hill  from  which  it  is  easy  to  dominate  the  surrounding  country, 
or  in  the  angle  of  a  river,  which  protects  it  from  two  or  three  sides. 
Besides,  the  Jibaros  rarely  settle  at  the  banks  of  the  main  rivers,  but 
prefer  to  make  their  houses  at  small  affluents  of  these  in  the  interior 
of  the  country.  Thus  they  not  only  avoid  the  whites,  who  now  and 
then  travel  along  the  great  rivers,  but  are  also  better  protected 
against  hostile  Indian  tribes. 

The  houses  themselves  are  constructed  with  great  care,  and  even  in 
times  of  peace  are  provided  with  walls  of  strong  chonta  poles  (pi.  1). 
When  a  family  is  particularly  threatened  by  enemies,  the  house  is 
fortified  in  a  special  way.  On  the  outer  side  of  the  ordinary  wall 
another  wall  is  made,  consisting  of  big  chonta  stems,  so  that  the 


4 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


house  has  two  walls,  one  close  to  the  other.  Within  the  houses,  all 
along  the  walls,  a  number  of  small  rooms  or  partitions,  about  1  meter 
in  height,  are  likewise  made  of  chonta  poles,  each  having  a  small 
hole  in  the  outside  through  which  the  warrior  can  shoot  his  attacking 
enemy.  There  is  one  such  small  room  for  each  defender  of  the 
house.  The  partitions  will  afford  the  warrior  protection  in  case  the 
enemy  are  able  to  penetrate  into  the  house.  As  to  the  doors,  there 
are  two  in  each  Jibaro  house,  one  at  each  end  of  the  house,  one  for 
the  men,  the  other  for  the  women.  These  doors  generally  consist  of 
six  chonta  poles,  the  upper  ends  of  which  are  united  by  means  of 
strong  lianas,  while  the  nether  ends  are  free  and  can  be  separated 
from  each  other,  three  to  each  side,  making  an  opening  of  tri¬ 
angular  form.  The  whole  opening  is  so  small,  however,  that  only 
one  man  at  a  time  with  some  difficulty  can  enter  the  house.  During 
the  night  the  poles  forming  the  doors  are  always  carefully  closed 
and  fastened  by  a  transverse  pole  applied  to  the  inner  side,  so  that 
the  entrance  of  undesirable  persons  is  made  impossible.  Even  the 
outer  wall  in  a  fortified  house  has  a  special  door  consisting  of  similar 
poles  which  can  be  closed  from  the  inside. 

Not  only  the  houses  themselves  but  also  the  manioc  and  banana 
plantations  situated  close  by  are  protected  in  a  similar  way  by  high 
fences  of  strong  chonta  poles.  The  aim  of  this  arrangement  is  to 
prevent  the  enemy  from  approaching  the  house  through  the  plan¬ 
tations. 

Formerly,  before  the  use  of  firearms  was  so  general  among  the 
Jibaros  as  it  is  now,  the  chiefs  especially  were  in  the  habit  of  con¬ 
structing  a  sort  of  war  tower  at  one  end  of  their  houses.  These 
towers  were  of  quadratic  form  and  sometimes  30  or  40  meters  in 
height.  On  the  top  of  it  there  was  a  small  room  about  4  meters  in 
quadrate  and  with  walls  about  1  meter  in  height,  made  of  strong 
chonta  poles,  which  protected  the  defender  against  the  lances  of  the 
enemies.  The  whole  thing  rested  upon  pillars  of  the  stem  of  the  __ 
chonta  palm,  and  the  warrior  ascended  along  a  stair  consisting  of 
wooden  logs  with  incisions  which  gave  him  foothold.  These  war 
towers  were  called  kumbinta .  After  the  Jibaros  began  to  make  use 
of  firearms  in  their  wars  these  measures  of  defense  proved  less  fit 
for  the  purpose,  and  consequently  were  no  longer  used. 

It  is  still  common  among  the  Jibaros  to  arrange  a  kind  of  trap  on 
the  way  which  leads  to  the  house  and  where  one  expects  the  enemy 
will  try  to  approach  it.  One  such  trap  consists  of  a  round  hole  in 
the  ground,  about  1J  meters  deep  and  large  enough  for  a  full-grown 
man  to  fall  into  it.  At  the  bottom  of  the  hole  three  pointed  sticks 
of  chonta,  resembling  points  of  lances,  are  arranged  in  an  erect 
position.  These  pointed  sticks  are  called  ashi.  The  part  which 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


BULLETIN  79  PLATE  1 


a.  An  unfortified  Jibaro  house 


b.  The  interior  of  a  Jibaro  house 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY  BULLETIN  79  PLATE  2 


A  TRAP  IN  THE  VIRGIN  FOREST 


karsten]  BLOOD  REVENGE ?  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS  5 

sticks  out  from  the  earth  has  a  length  of  about  half  a  meter.  At 
the  surface  of  the  earth  the  opening  of  the  hole  is  covered  with 
small  sticks  and  leaves  which  makes  it  difficult  or  impossible  for  the 
enemy,  creeping  along  in  the  darkness,  to  discover  its  presence 
before  he  falls  into  it.  When  he  falls  his  feet  are  transfixed  by  the 
pointed  sticks  and  he  is  not  able  to  get  out.  Besides,  the  defenders 
of  the  house  are  often  keeping  watch  at  these  holes,  ready  to 
dispatch  the  enemy  when  he  is  caught  in  them.  The  Jibaros  call 
these  traps  mesertinyu  whua ,  “  a  hole  of  death.” 

Another  kind  of  trap,  which  likewise  is  arranged  on  the  narrow 
path  leading  to  the  house,  is  the  following:  It  consists  of  a  small 
tree,  growing  close  to  the  path,  which  is  bent  down,  or  of  a  big 
branch  of  a  tree,  one  end  of  which  is  fixed  in  the  ground  so  that  with 
the  latter  it  forms  an  angle  of  about  30°.  To  the  upper  end  of  this 
branch  eight  pointed  chonta  sticks  are  attached  in  such  a  way  that 
they  form  as  it  were  a  comb.  The  branch  is  bent  back  like  a  bow 
against  a  couple  of  poles  fixed  in  the  ground  for  the  purpose,  to 
which  it  is  attached  by  means  of  a  strong  liana  in  a  certain  ingenious 
way  that  can  not  be  fully  described  in  words.  Across  the  path  a 
few  inches  over  the  ground  another  liana  is  stretched  and  tied  at 
one  of  the  poles  just  mentioned.  Between  this  liana  and  the  liana 
holding  the  bent  branch  there  is  such  a  connection  that  when  the 
foot  of  the  enemy  touches  the  former,  the  bow  is  released,  and  the 
comb  with  the  pointed  chonta  sticks  will  strike  him  with  terrible 
force  in  the  face  or  the  chest.  The  liana  stretched  across  the  path  is 
sometimes  covered  with  leaves  in  order  that  the  enemy  may  not 
notice  it,  but  besides,  even  this  weapon  is  calculated  to  operate 
mainly  in  the  darkness,  since  the  attacks  are  nearly  always  made 
at  night.  The  trap  described  (pi.  2)  is  called  tambunchi  by  the 
J  ibaros  and  singbraru  by  the  Quichua-speaking  Canelos  Indians. 

Whereas  the  tambunchi  has  been  used  by  the  Jibaros  since  ancient 
times,  the  following  defensive  measure  is  of  modern  origin :  Across 
the  path  along  which  the  enemy  is  expected  to  come  a  blackened 
string  is  stretched  at  such  a  height  that  it  reaches  a  man  to  the  chest. 
At  the  tree  where  one  end  of  the  string  is  fastened  a  charged  and 
cocked  rifle  is  tied,  with  the  barrel  fixed  in  the  direction  of  the  string. 
The  end  of  the  string  is  brought  in  such  a  connection  with  the  trig¬ 
ger  of  the  rifle  that  when  the  enemy,  coming  along  in  the  darkness, 
gives  it  a  push,  the  shot  is  discharged  and  is  likely  to  hit  him  in  the 
chest.  Even  if  he  should  escape  from  being  hit,  the  shot  would  warn 
the  inhabitants  of  the  house  that  enemies  were  approaching. 

The  big  signal  drum  of  the  Jibaros,  called  tundui ,  also  plays  a 
part  in  the  wars,  although  originally  it  seems  to  have  been  a  purely 
religious  instrument.  At  times  when  there  is  fear  of  an  attack  of 


6 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


enemies  it  is  placed  outside  the  house  on  the  hill,  and  the  beats  may 
then  be  heard  at  a  distance  of  several  miles.  The  drum  tundui  is 
beaten  partly  when  the  Jibaros  drink  the  narcotics  maikoa  and 
natema — in  which  case  the  object  is  to  summon  the  spirits  that 
inhabit  these  sacred  drinks — partly  after  a  death,  and  lastly  to  give 
the  friends  notice  of  an  attack  of  enemies.  In  the  latter  case  the 
signaling  consists  of  a  series  of  short  and  fast  beats  at  a  time  which 
is  at  first  forte  or  fortissimo  and  thereafter  gradually  diminishes. 
When  the  friends  in  the  other  houses  hear  these  beats  they  say : 
Pakinmawui ,  u  they  are  killing.”  Hence  this  whole  mode  of  signal¬ 
ing  is  called  pakinmawui.  As  soon  as  the  inhabitants  in  a  house  get 
knowledge  of  or  suspect  the  presence  of  enemies,  and  also  during 
the  attack,  if  there  is  time  for  it,  they  try  by  beating  the  tundui  to 
summon  their  friends  for  rescue,  and  the  signaling  may  sometimes 
cause  the  enemy,  fearing  the  arrival  of  help,  to  give  up  his  evil 
intention  and  take  flight. 

The  principal  weapons  of  war  of  the  Jibaro  Indians  are  the  lance 
(nanki)  and  the  shield  ( tandara ),  the  former  being  used  for  attack, 
the  latter  for  defense.  Nowadays  the  Jibaros,  besides  these  weapons, 
also  commonly  use  firearms  ( akaru )  received  from  the  whites,  gener¬ 
ally  in  exchange  for  a  human  head  ( tsantsa ).  The  lance  should  be 
made  of  the  hard  wood  of  the  chonta  palm,  if  possible  the  kind  of 
chonta  cultivated  by  the  Jibaros  (called  ui) ,  The  head  is  of  pris¬ 
matic  shape  and  with  the  shaft  forms  a  single  piece.  Anciently  the 
Jibaros  also  used  lance  heads  made  of  the  leg  bones  of  the  tiger  or 
the  bear,  which  were  fitted  into  shafts  of  chonta.  A  special  power 
is  ascribed  to  the  chonta  lance,  owing  to  the  belief  that  the  spiny 
chonta  palm  itself  is  a  demoniac  tree,  the  seat  of  a  spirit  (; wakani  or 
iguanchi).  The  chonta  lance  therefore  inspires  not  only  men  but 
also  the  spirits  and  demons  with  fear.  Hence  at  the  tsantsa  feast 
the  head  trophy  is  always  kept  tied  to  a  chonta  lance  at  those  mo¬ 
ments  when  it  is  not  needed  for  the  ceremonies. 

The  shield  is  made  of  a  special  kind  of  wood  which  the  Jibaros 
call  kamaka ,  the  Quichua-speaking  Canelos  Indians  lanchama ,  and 
which  has  the  property  of  being  at  once  light  and  strong.  It  is 
always  round  and  wrought  of  one  single  piece,  although  the  shields 
are  sometimes  very  large.  During  the  days  the  Jibaro  makes  the 
rough  work  he  partly  fasts,  especially  abstaining  from  eating  a  kind 
of  sweet  potatoes  (0 onvolvulus  batatas ),  called  inchi  by  the  Jibaros. 
If  he  eats  this  fruit  the  shield  will  be  attacked  by  moth,  rot,  and 
become  useless.  This  superstition  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  sweet 
potato  has  the  same  appearance  as  moth-eaten  or  rotten  wood. 
During  the  same  days  the  Jibaro  likewise  abstains  from  cohabiting 
with  his  wives,  for  if  he  has  intercourse  with  a  woman  the  shield 
will  burst  or  get  crooked. 


karsten]  BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  LEASTS  7 

The  Canelos  Indians,  who  in  part  are  of  the  same  race  as  the 
Jibaros,  at  the  making  of  the  shield  observe  the  following  rules: 
The  rough  work  is  carried  out  in  four  days.  The  Indian  works 
every  day  from  early  morning  until  noon.  During  the  whole  fore¬ 
noon,  until  the  work  is  finished  for  that  day,  the  Indian  fasts  and 
does  not  eat  or  drink  anything.  As  soon  as  the  work  is  finished  at 
noon  he  drinks  chicha  (manioc  beer),  and  in  the  afternoon  he  may 
also  eat  other  kinds  of  food.  While  working  upon  the  shield  he  ob¬ 
serves  the  rule  not  to  speak  to  anybody,  but  keeps  strict  silence. 
Nor  does  he,  during  the  four  days  and  nights,  cohabit  with  his  wife. 
If  he  infringes  these  rules  the  shield  will  get  humpy  or  burst,  or 
be  attacked  by  moth. 

As  soon  as  the  shield  is  made  it  is  often  painted  on  the  outside 
with  the  black  dye  obtained  from  the  genipa  fruit,  called  sua  by 
the  Jibaros.  The  patterns  represent  spirits  (wakdni  supai) ,  giant 
snakes  ( pangi ,  amarun) ,  butterflies  ( wambishku ),  and  other  ani¬ 
mals.  These  patterns  are  supposed  to  inspire  the  enemy  with  fear 
and  to  give  strength  and  courage  to  the  warrior  himself. 

The  Jibaros  use  shields  of  two  kinds.  Some  are  very  large  and 
somewhat  heavy  and  are  used  only  for  defense  within  the  house. 
The  shield  rests  against  the  ground  or  against  a  round  seat  of  the 
kind  the  Jibaros  use,  and  the  warrior  with  his  lance  tries  to  defend 
himself  against  the  enemy  penetrating  into  the  house.  Other  kinds 
of  shields  are  smaller  and  lighter  and  are  carried  by  the  Indians  on 
war  expeditions. 

The  Jibaros  never  use  blowpipes  and  poisoned  arrows  in  their 
wars,  but  only  for  hunting.  They  believe  that  if  they  kill  a  man 
with  a  poisoned  arrow  that  poison  will  no  longer  do  for  killing  an 
animal  or  bird  of  the  forest.  Besides,  it  seems  that  the  poisoned 
arrows  are  not  regarded  as  a  sufficiently  effective  weapon  to  fight 
men  with.  The  Indian,  when  killing  his  enemy,  desires  to  inflict 
as  large  wounds  and  to  shed  as  much  blood  as  possible,  a  fact  that 
explains  his  predilection  for  the  lance  as  a  weapon  of  war. 

CHIEFS  AND  WARS 

Among  the  Jibaros  (pis.  3,  4)  each  family  father  is  theoretically 
absolute  ruler  over  his  house  people,  and  in  times  of  peace  there  is 
no  recognized  common  chief  even  within  the  tribe,  and  still  less  any 
exercising  authority  over  several  tribes.  The  Jibaros  have  not  even 
a  proper  name  for  a  chief.  The  word  capitu ,  which  is  sometimes 
used,  is  borrowed  from  the  Spanish  and  is  used  principally  to  de¬ 
note  a  white  man  of  importance.  It  is  only  in  times  of  war  that  a 
chieftainship  exists;  that  is  to  say,  during  those  great  wars  of  ex¬ 
termination  which  are  carried  out  against  other  Jibaro  tribes.  Such 


8 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


a  temporary  chief  of  war  is  generally  only  called  unta ,  “  the  old 
one,”  because  the  chiefs  are  nearly  always  old,  experienced  men  who 
have  killed  many  enemies  and  captured  many  heads.  The  small 
blood  feuds  within  the  tribe,  on  the  other  hand,  have  a  more  private 
character  and  as  a  rule  are  not  fought  out  under  the  leadership  of  a 
common  chief. 

The  dignity  of  a  chieftain  is  hereditary  in  a  relative  sense,  in  so 
far  that  the  son  of  a  chief  is  generally  elected  a  chief  in  time  of  war 
after  his  father  has  died  or  grown  decrepit.  This,  however,  can  only 
take  place  in  case  he  has  proved  a  valiant  and  skilled  warrior  and 

has  killed  enemies.  No  Jibaro  is  selected  as  a  chief  if  he  has  not 

• 

killed  at  least  one  enemy.  The  Jibaros  have  absolute  faith  in  the 
heritability  of  prominent  qualities,  and  ascribe  an  extraordinary  im¬ 
portance  to  education  and  the  power  of  example.  The  son  of  a 
great  chief,  they  say,  must  necessarily  also  become  an  able  warrior 
because  he  is,  as  it  were,  a  direct  continuation  of  his  father,  has  re¬ 
ceived  a  careful  education  for  the  deeds  of  war,  and  has  always  had 
the  good  example  of  his  great  father  before  his  eyes. 

The  authority  of  the  chief  elected  for  a  war  is  very  great.  It  is  he 
alone  who  disposes  everything  for  the  expedition  planned,  who 
decides  about  the  time  for  and  the  mode  of  making  the  attack,  and 
the  younger  warriors  oblige  themselves  to  obey  him  in  everything. 
But  as  soon  as  a  war  has  been  carried  to  a  successful  end  the  power 
of  the  chief  ceases,  and  he  has,  in  spite  of  the  great  repute  he  always 
enjoys,  no  more  authority  or  right  to  decide  over  the  doings  of  his 
tribesmen  than  any  other  family  father  among  the  Jibaros. 

CAUSES  OF  THE  WAKS 

Before  describing  the  modes  of  making  war  among  the  Jibaro 
Indians  it  is  necessary  to  state  what  the  causes  of  these  wars  generally 
are. 

The  Jibaros  are  by  nature  impulsive  and  choleric,  qualities  that 
among  them  frequently  give  rise  to  disputes  and  quarrels  which  may 
degenerate  into  sanguinary  feuds.  Their  unbounded  sense  of  liberty 
and  their  desire  to  be  independent,  not  only  of  the  whites  but  also 
of  each  other,  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  they  do  not  live  in  villages 
but  each  family  separately,  for  in  this  way  conflicts  are  more  easily 
avoided.  It  may,  for  instance,  happen  that  the  swine,  the  most  im¬ 
portant  domestic  animals,  who  during  the  day  are  allowed  to  roam 
about  freely  in  the  forest,  penetrate  into  the  plantations  of  a  neigh¬ 
boring  family  and  devastate  the  crops.  The  owner  gets  angry  and 
claims  compensation  for  the  damage  done.  In  this  way  quarrels 
easily  arise  which  may  develop  into  bloody  fights ;  at  any  rate  there 
enters  general  discord  and  distrust  between  the  two  families.  Some 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY  BULLETIN  79  PLATE  3 


.  Jibaro  men  b.  Jibaro  women 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY  BULLETIN  79  PLATE  4 


.  Jibaro  youths  b.  Jibaro  warrior 


kaksten]  BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS  9 

time  later  it  may  happen  that  one  or  more  members  of  either  family 
fall  ill  with  some  of  the  diseases  which  the  Jibaros  ascribe  to  witch¬ 
craft.  When  trying  to  find  out  the  author  of  the  evil  the  head  of 
that  family  is  most  likely  to  attribute  it  to  the  malicious  art  of  a 
neighbor  with  whom  he  has  had  such  a  quarrel.  If  the  patient  dies 
he  has  recourse  to  divination  by  means  of  the  narcotic  natema ,  which 
generally  leads  to  his  suspicions  against  the  neighbor  being  confirmed. 
The  family’s  sense  of  justice  as  well  as  the  duty  to  the  deceased  now 
require  that  revenge  shall  be  taken,  and  the  supposed  wizard  is  as¬ 
sassinated.  This  murder  naturally  awakes  the  desire  for  blood 
revenge  on  the  part  of  the  family  thus  outraged,  and  so  a  blood 
feud  is  begun  which,  as  is  easily  understood,  has  a  tendency  to 
make  itself  permanent. 

Since  supposed  sorcery  is  nearly  always  the  nearest  cause  of  mur¬ 
ders  within  the  tribe,  it  is  clear  that  the  professional  sorcerers  or 
medicine  men  are  those  members  of  Jibaro  society  which  are  most 
frequently  exposed  to  the  revengeful  attacks  of  their  enemies.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  in  large  Indian  societies  sorcerers  are  almost  continu¬ 
ally  assassinated,  or  at  least  threatened  with  death,  by  their  enemies. 
When  a  medicine  man  has  undertaken  to  cure  a  sick  person  and  the 
latter  dies  in  spite  of  the  treatment,  the  “  doctor  ”  is  also  generally 
made  responsible  for  the  death,  the  relatives  of  the  dead  reasoning 
that  the  medicine  man,  instead  of  curing  the  patient,  on  the  contrary 
used  his  art  to  kill  him.  The  unsuccessful  curer  is  therefore  mur¬ 
dered  unless  he  escapes  by  flight.  Since  the  Jibaros,  on  the  whole, 
do  not  recognize  what  we  call  a  natural  death  but  always  attribute  a 
death  to  supernatural  causes,  any  death  among  them  tends  to  give 
rise  to  a  murder,  the  relatives  of  the  deceased  considering  it  as  their 
duty  to  take  revenge  upon  the  supposed  author  of  the  accident. 

It  must,  however,  be  remarked  that  among  the  Jibaros  the  pro¬ 
fessional  medicine  men  are  not  the  only  persons  who  know  about 
sorcery  and  witchcraft.  Most  old  men,  and  especially  the  chiefs,  are 
more  or  less  initiated  in  the  art. 

The  Jibaros  make  a  distinction  between  evil  caused  by  witchcraft 
(tuncJvi)  and  disease  ( sungura ).  The  illness  of  a  patient  is  generally 
attributed  to  witchcraft  when  it  consists  in  violent  pains  in  some  part 
of  the  body,  especially  when  the  pain  is  accompanied  by  swelling  of 
that  part.  Thus,  for  instance,  headache,  rheumatic  pains,  and  colic 
are  ascribed  to  witchcraft.  On  the  other  hand,  to  the  category  “  dis¬ 
ease  ”  ( sungura )  the  Jibaros  set  down  especially  such  illnesses  as  have 
originally  been  brought  to  them  by  the  whites  and  which  are  not  par¬ 
ticularly  accompanied  by  pains,  like  dysentery,  smallpox,  and  most 
other  fever  diseases.  Now,  if  somebody  has  “brought  sickness,”  i.  e ., 
contagion,  to  the  house  of  another  Jibaro  so  that  some  member  of  the 
family  falls  ill  and  dies,  that  person  is  also  exposed  to  the  revenge  of 
2119°— 23 - 2 


10 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


the  relatives.  They  are  perhaps  ready  to  admit  that  he  has  not  caused 
the  evil  intentionally,  but  this  circumstance  does  not  free  him  from 
responsibility  and  from  the  obligation  of  at  least  paying  a  material 
compensation  for  the  positive  loss  he  has  caused  to  the  family  which 
through  him  has  been  deprived  of  a  useful  member.  In  a  case  like 
this,  therefore,  compensation  may  enter  instead  of  blood  revenge.  In 
the  same  way  the  Indian  is  apt  to  recognize  extenuating  circum¬ 
stances  even  in  other  cases  where  the  evil  has  not  been  caused  will¬ 
fully — for  instance,  when  somebody  in  a  state  of  drunkenness  or 
under  the  influence  of  a  narcotic  drink  has  been  the  cause  of  another 
person’s  death.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  doer  refuses  to  pay  com¬ 
pensation,  blood  revenge  is  likely  to  be  carried  out  against  him. 

Again,  in  cases  where  the  evil  intention  is  prominent,  the  moral 
indignation  aroused  by  the  deed  is  so  much  greater,  and  particularly 
witchery  is  regarded  as  so  grave  and  unpardonable  a  crime,  that  it 
can  be  atoned  by  blood  only. 

Not  seldom  bloody  feuds  arise  among  the  Jibaros  for  the  sake  of 
the  women.  The  Jibaros  live  in  polygamy  and  hold  their  wives  in 
high  estimation.  The  women,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  have  much  to  say 
in  Jibaro  society  and  are  generally  treated  well.  The  men,  however, 
are  very  jealous  of  their  wives  and  adultery  is  severely  punished,  the 
husband  maltreating  his  unfaithful  wife  with  the  lance  or  a  knife 
so  as  to  sometimes  cause  her  death.  In  such  cases,  however,  the  rela¬ 
tives  of  the  woman  frequently  take  her  part,  alleging  that  she  is  in¬ 
nocent.  If  in  their  opinion  she  has  been  punished  wrongfully  or 
with  undue  severity,  they  try  to  take  a  corresponding  revenge  upon 
her  husband.  Under  such  circumstances  more  than  one  Jibaro  has 
been  killed  by  his  father-in-law  or  his  brothers-in-law.  Thus  on  the 
Kio  Upano  a  young  Jibaro  had  once  taken  the  life  of  his  wife  on  ac¬ 
count  of  unfaithfulness,  real  or  supposed,  on  her  part.  Some  time 

mutilated  dead  body  of  the  Indian  was  found 
in  the  forest.  He  had  been  murdered  by  the  relatives  of  his  former 
wife.  Ordinary  captures  of  women,  which  frequently  take  place 
among  the  Jibaros,  also  give  rise  to  blood  feuds.  A  Jibaro  carries 
off  the  wife  of  another  Indian  or  takes  her  with  her  own  consent. 
The  offended  husband  summons  his  friends  and  starts  to  persecute 
the  seducer  to  kill  him.  If  under  such  circumstances  a  murder  has 
been  committed,  this  usually  causes  a  new  murder  from  the  party 
offended,  and  so  on,  until  either  all  grown-up  members  of  one  family 
have  been  exterminated,  or,  what  happens  more  generally,  each 
party  gets  tired  of  the  feud  and  they  decide  to  leave  one  another  in 
peace.  Sometimes  the  affair  is  settled  by  a  formal  agreement. 

The  Jibaro  Indian  is  wholly  penetrated  by  the  idea  of  retaliation; 
his  desire  for  revenge  is  an  expression  of  his  sense  of  justice.  This 
principle  is  eye  for  eye,  tooth  for  tooth,  life  for  life.  If  one  repre¬ 


afterwards  the  cruelly 


karsten]  blood  revenge,  war,  and  victory  feasts  11 

bends  a  Jibaro  because  he  has  killed  an  enemy,  his  answer  is  gen¬ 
erally:  “He  has  killed  himself.”  But  blood  revenge  among  these 
Indians  is  not  merely  owing  to  moral  or  ethical,  but  also  to  religious 
reasons.  The  soul  of  the  murdered  Indian  requires  that  his  relatives 
shall  avenge  his  death.  The  errant  spirit,  which  gets  no  rest,  visits 
his  sons,  his  brothers,  his  father,  in  the  dream,  and,  weeping,  con¬ 
jures  them  not  to  let  the  slayer  escape  but  to  wreak  vengeance  upon 
him  for  the  life  he  has  taken.  If  they  omit  to  fulfill  this  duty  the 
anger  of  the  vengeful  spirit  may  turn  against  themselves.  To 
avenge  the  blood  of  a  murdered  father,  brother,  or  son,  is  therefore 
looked  upon  as  one  of  the  most  sacred  duties  of  a  Jibaro  Indian. 
The  expression  which  the  Jibaros  use  for  this  is  ayambruamdhtinyu 
(in  Quichua  randi'pashca )  which  means  “to  avenge  the  blood  of  a 
murdered  relation.”  It  may  happen  that  a  Jibaro  keeps  the  thought 
of  revenge  in  his  mind  for  years,  even  for  decades,  waiting  for  the 
opportunity  to  carry  it  out,  but  he  never  gives  it  up.  A  man  has 
perhaps  been  murdered  while  his  sons  were  still  small,  and  he  has 
perhaps  likewise  lacked  brothers  or  other  male  relatives  who  had 
been  able  to  revenge  his  death.  As  soon  as  the  sons  become  full 
grown  they  know  what  their  duty  toward  their  murdered  father  re¬ 
quires  of  them.  However,  in  such  cases  it  sometimes  occurs  that  the 
atfair  is  settled  in  a  peaceful  way.  The  sons  of  the  murdered  Indian 
send  the  following  message  to  the  slayer,  or,  in  case  he  is  dead,  to 
his  sons:  “You  (or  your  father)  killed  our  father  while  we  were 
still  children.  It  is  our  duty  to  avenge  his  blood  and  to  take  your 
life  in  retaliation.  But  if  you  promise  to  pay  such  and  such  a  price — 
a  rifle,  an  axe,  a  good  hound,  etc. — we  will  regard  the  blood  guilt 
as  atoned  and  pardon  you.”  If  the  Indian  thus  threatened  agrees 
with  this,  the  matter  is  definitely  settled.  The  Jibaros  do  not  find 
anything  repugnant  in  thus  estimating  the  life  of  a  parent  with 
material  equivalents,  and  an  agreement  like  this  is  especially  pos¬ 
sible  in  cases  where  the  crime  to  be  punished  has  been  committed 
very  long  ago.  In  cases  of  murder  recently  committed  the  indigna¬ 
tion  of  the  offended  family  is  generally  so  great  that  any  material 
compensation  is  out  of  the  question,  and  an  atonement  in  blood  is 
required. 

Among  the  Jibaros  blood  revenge  is  not  strictly  individualized  in 
the  sense  that  it  always  directs  itself  exclusively  against  the  slayer. 
The  Jibaro  certainly  first  of  all  wants  to  take  revenge  on  the  person 
who  committed  the  crime,  but  if  he  can  not  be  caught  it  may  instead 
be  directed  against  some  one  of  his  relatives — his  brother,  his  father, 
even  his  mother  or  sister.  To  understand  this  we  have  to  consider 
that  the  conception  of  individual  personality  and  consequently  of  in¬ 
dividual  responsibility  does  not  exist  among  the  primitive  Indians 


12 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


in  the  same  sense  as  among  civilized  peoples.  The  individual  forms 
an  inseparable  part  of  a  whole,  namely,  of  the  family  or  tribe  to 
which  he  belongs.  Especially  the  members  of  the  same  family  are 
regarded  as,  so  to  speak,  organically  coherent  with  each  other,  so 
that  one  part  stands  for  all  and  all  for  one.  What  happens  to  one 
member  of  that  social  unit  happens  to  all,  and  for  the  deed  of  one 
member  the  rest  are  held  equally  responsible.  How  the  Jibaros 
conceive  this  connection  appears  from  certain  of  their  social  cus¬ 
toms.  For  instance,  custom  requires  that  after  a  child  is  born  the 
parents  shall  fast  and  observe  other  rules  of  abstinence  for  a  couple 
of  years,  or  until  the  child  is  named.  This  is  due  to  the  idea  that 
something  of  the  souls  or  essence  of  the  parents  inheres  in  the  child, 
so  that  all  three  in  one  way  form  a  single  organism,  a  single  per¬ 
sonality.  But  this  mystic  connection  between  the  parents  and  the 
child  also  subsists  after  the  child  has  grown  up,  although  perhaps 
less  intimately.  Similarly  the  tie  which  unites  brothers  and  sisters 
in  a  family  is  so  intimate  that  they  may  be  said  together  to  form 
one  organic  whole.  Among  the  Jibaros  and  the  Canelos  Indians, 
when  one  member  of  the  family  is  sick  the  rest  have  to  diet  in  the 
same  way  as  the  patient  himself,  for  if  they  eat  unsuitable  food  it 
would  be  the  same  as  if  the  patient  ate  that  food,  and  his  condition 
would  grow  worse.  From  the  same  point  of  view  we  have  to  explain 
the  custom  prevailing  among  the  Jibaros  that  when  a  man  dies  his 
brother  must  marry  the  widow.  The  departed  husband,  who  is  still 
jealous  of  the  wife  he  left  behind,  does  not  cede  her  to  any  other 
man  than  his  brother,  who  with  himself  forms  one  personality  and 
represents  him  in  the  most  real  sense  of  the  word.  When  a  younger 
Jibaro  is  murdered  by  his  enemies  the  duty  of  revenging  his  death  is 
also  first  of  all  incumbent  on  his  brothers. 

The  Jibaro  can  not  even  distinguish  his  own  personality  from  his 
material  belongings;  at  least  not  from  things  he  has  made  himself. 
When  he  fabricates  a  shield,  a  drum,  a  blowpipe,  or  some  other  deli¬ 
cate  object,  he  has  to  diet  and  observe  abstinence  in  other  ways;  for, 
according  to  his  own  idea,  he  actually  puts  something  of  his  own 
personality,  his  own  soul,  into  the  object  he  is  making.  His  own 
properties,  both  the  essential  and  habitual  ones  and  those  occasionally 
acquired  through  eating  a  certain  food,  etc.,  will  therefore  be  trans¬ 
ferred  to  that  object.  The  division  of  labor  existing  among  the 
Indians  depends  on  the  same  peculiar  view.  Thus,  for  instance,  the 
Indian  woman  has  to  fabricate  the  clay  vessels  and  manages  these 
utensils,  because  the  clay  of  which  they  are  made,  like  the  earth  itself, 
is  female — that  is,  has  a  woman’s  soul.  She  is  connected  with  the  fire 
and  has  to  cook  the  food,  because  the  fire  has  a  female  soul,  etc. 

Such  a  view  prevailing  among  the  Indians,  it  is  easy  to  under¬ 
stand  that  a  Jibaro,  with  regard  to  the  murder  of  one  of  his  rela- 


KARSTEN] 


BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  LEASTS 


13 


tives,  asks  not  so  much  which  individual  has  committed  the  deed, 
but  rather  reasons  in  the  following  way :  “A  member  of  that  family 
has  murdered  my  relative ;  consequently,  in  revenge,  some  member  of 
that  family  must  die.” 

When  a  murder  committed  by  an  own  tribesman  is  to  be  avenged, 
the  social  morals  of  the  Jibaros  require  that  the  punishment  shall 
be  meted  out  with  justice,  in  so  far  that  for  one  life  which  has  been 
taken  only  one  life  should  be  taken  in  retaliation.  Thereupon,  the 
blood  guilt  is  atoned  ( tumashi  akerkama)  and  the  offended  family 
is  satisfied.  Consequently,  if  a  Jibaro  Indian  wishes  to  revenge 
a  murder  of  his  brother,  it  may  well  happen  that  he,  in  case  the  slayer 
himself  can  not  be  caught  and  punished,  will  assassinate  his  brother 
or  father  instead  of  him,  but  he  does  not  take  the  life  of  more  than 
one  member  of  the  family,  even  if  he  has  an  opportunity  of  killing 
more.  If  he,  for  instance,  killed  not  only  the  murderer  himself  but 
also  some  one  of  his  brothers,  this  would  awaken  indignation  in  the 
whole  tribe,  and  it  would  be  considered  righteous  that  the  family 
thus  offended  in  its  turn  should  take  revenge.  The  blood  guilt  in 
such  a  case  has  passed  to  the  original  avenger.  This  principle,  which 
requires  that  there  shall  be  justice  in  the  retaliation  so  that  life  is 
weighed  against  life,  of  course,  in  itself  has  a  tendency  to  limit  blood 
revenge.  It  happens,  however,  in  many  cases,  and  especially  with 
regard  to  supposed  witchery,  that  the  person  accused  of  the  crime 
does  not  admit  the  guilt  but  asserts  that  he  and  his  family  are  inno¬ 
cently  persecuted  by  the  relatives  of  the  dead.  If,  then,  he  or  a 
member  of  his  family  is  murdered,  his  relatives  try,  in  their  turn,  to 
take  revenge,  and  so  on,  in  which  case  the  blood  feud  tends  to  become 
prolonged  indefinitely. 

If  thus,  as  we  have  seen,  among  the  Jibaros  blood  revenge  takes 
place  even  with  regard  to  members  of  the  same  tribe,  it  fails  when 
such  a  crime  is  committed  within  the  family.  Among  these  Indians 
it  sometimes  occurs  that  a  man  kills  his  brother,  if  the  latter,  for 
instance,  has  seduced  his  wife  or  bewitched  one  of  his  children.  But 
in  this  case  blood  revenge  generally  fails,  inasmuch  as  the  natural 
avengers — that  is,  the  father  and  the  remaining  brothers — abstain 
from  carrying  it  out.  “  It  is  enough  that  one  member  of  our  family 
has  died,”  they  say,  “  why  should  we  deprive  ourselves  of  one  more  ?  ” 
The  slayer  is  consequently  pardoned.  The  failing  of  blood  revenge 
in  a  case  like  this  is  due  to  the  natural  sympathy  which  the  avengers 
feel  for  the  slayer,  as  well  as  to  the  consideration  that  by  killing 
him  they  would  only  harm  themselves  by  weakening  the  power  and 
influence  of  the  family. 

That  the  blood  feuds  which  take  place  within  the  tribe  have  an 
entirely  different  character  from  the  wars  of  extermination  waged 
against  foreign  tribes  also  appears  from  the  fact  that  only  in  the 


14 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


latter  case,  but  not  in  the  former,  the  victors  make  trophies  ( tsantsas ) 
of  the  heads  of  their  slain  enemies.  Such  trophies  are  prepared  only 
of  the  heads  of  enemies  belonging  to  a  wholly  different  tribe,  with 
whom  the  victors  do  not  reckon  blood  relationship.  Consequently, 
when  a  Jibaro  kills  a  sorcerer  or  some  other  enemy  of  the  same  tribe 
as  himself,  he  leaves  the  dead  body  lying  where  it  falls,  but  he  does 
not  cut  off  his  head  to  make  a  tsantsa  of  it,  saying :  “  He  was  of  my 
own  people,  my  own  tribe  ”  (winy a  eintsu).  Nor  is  there  any  victory 
feast  in  this  case.  This  principle  is  so  strictly  observed  that  if  among 
a  hostile  tribe,  against  which  war  is  waged,  there  happens  to  be  a 
person  who  originally  has  belonged  to  the  tribe  of  the  assailants — 
he  having  for  instance  been  captured  from  the  latter  during  an  earlier 
war — or  one  who  is  descended  from  such  a  person,  the  assailants,  if 
victorious,  abstain  from  taking  that  person’s  head,  reckoning  that 
he  is  related  to  some  man  of  their  own  tribe.  “  He  was  of  our  own 
people,”  they  say.  The  victors  may  kill  him  if  they  are  able  to  do 
it,  but  they  make  no  trophy  of  his  head.  A  Jibaro  warrior  who  did 
this  would  run  the  risk  of  being  killed  by  his  own  tribesmen,  and, 
more  strictly  speaking,  by  those  who  reckoned  blood  relationship  with 
the  victim.  In  such  cases,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  disputes  sometimes 
arise  between  the  victors  themselves,  some  wishing  to  take  the  head 
of  the  killed  enemy,  whereas  others,  asserting  they  are  related  to 
him  by  the  tie  of  blood,  are  opposed  to  it.  The  making  of  a  tsantsa 
of  an  enemy’s  head,  and  especially  the  feast  which  follows  the  ac¬ 
quiring  of  such  a  trophy,  implies  the  grossest  insult,  not  only  to  the 
murdered  person  himself  and  his  family,  but  to  his  whole  tribe.  Be¬ 
sides,  the  so-called  tsantsa  feast,  which  requires  great  preparations 
for  years,  can  only  take  place  where  the  victor  stays  far  from 
the  vengeful  tribesmen  of  his  slain  enemy  and  is  safe  from  their 
machinations. 

Between  the  different  tribes  in  the  regions  inhabited  by  the  Jibaros 
there  exists  almost  perpetual  enmity  and  destructive  wars  are  often 
carried  out,  especially  between  neighboring  tribes.  The  tribes  on 
the  Rio  Paute  thus  are  generally  hostile  to  those  living  on  the  Rio 
Upano  and  Santiago  and  the  latter,  in  their  turn,  to  the  tribes  in¬ 
habiting  the  vast  regions  around  the  Morona  and  the  Pastaza.  The 
tribes  of  the  Rio  Cliiguaza,  a  small  affluent  of  the  upper  Pastaza,  are 
mortal  enemies  of  the  Jibaros  living  on  the  Rio  Capotaza  between 
the  upper  Pastaza  and  Bobonaza.  All  wild  Jibaros  on  the  Pastaza 
have  during  many  years  waged  real  wars  of  extermination  against 
the  half-civilized  Canelos  Indians  on  the  Bobonaza,  and  so  on.  It  is 
not  easy  to  state  what  originally  has  been  the  cause  of  this  enmity. 
Generally  speaking,  one  may  say  that  it  has  originated  in  the  jeal¬ 
ousy  and  rivalry  existing  between  the  different  tribes,  a  rivalry 


karsten] 


BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  LEASTS 


15 


personalized  in  the  proud  and  ambitious  chiefs  who  stand  at  the 
head  of  the  different  tribes.  One  chief  tries  to  surpass  another  one 
in  war-like  deeds  and  can  not  endure  seeing  his  rival  increase  in 
wealth,  power,  and  influence.  Again,  the  enmity  of  the  wild  Indians 
against  the  Canelos  Indians  seems  to  be  due  chiefly  to  the  latter  hav¬ 
ing  submitted  themselves  to  the  Christian  influences  and  in  making 
themselves  dependent  upon  the  whites.  But,  in  addition  to  this, 
even  with  regard  to  the  hostility  reigning  between  the  different 
tribes,  superstition — the  belief  in  witchcraft — plays  its  fatal  part, 
this  being  nearly  always  the  principal  cause  of  the  wars.  The  rival 
chiefs  combat  each  other  not  merely  by  natural  means,  but  also  with 
the  supernatural  weapon  which  is  called  tunchi  (in  Quichua  chunta) , 
for  a  great  Jibaro  chief  is  as  skilled  in  witchcraft  as  a  professional 
sorcerer.  In  order  to  bewitch  a  person  it  is,  according  to  the  idea 
of  the  Indians,  not  absolutely  necessary  that  one  should  be  quite 
near  the  victim.  Those  sorcerers  and  chiefs  who  are  experienced 
in  the  art  are  able  to  send  the  fatal  arrow  a  long  distance,  often 
many  miles.  If,  in  a  tribe  and  especially  within  the  family  of  the 
chief,  in  a  short  time  various  cases  of  disease,  death,  or  accidents 
of  other  kinds  occur,  these  are  generally  set  down  to  the  evil  machi¬ 
nations  of  the  sorcerers  in  a  hostile  neighboring  tribe.  Thus,  for 
instance,  the  Jibaro  chief  Nayapi  on  the  Pastaza,  and  the  old  Cane¬ 
los  chief  Palati  on  the  Bobonaza  have  for  many  years  been  enemies 
and  have  sent  menacing  messages  to  each  other.  In  the  family  of 
Nayapi  within  a  comparatively  short  time  several  deaths  took  place — 
two  of  his  sons,  one  daughter,  and  his  son-in-law  dying  from  mysteri¬ 
ous  diseases  or  through  accidents.  Nayapi  said  that  his  enemy 
Palati  was  the  cause  of  all  these  deaths  by  systematically  letting  off 
his  witchery  arrows  against  Nayapi  and  his  family.  Palati,  again, 
by  no  means  denied  that  this  was  so,  but,  on  the  contrary,  con¬ 
firmed  it,  menacingly  announcing  that  he  would,  by  and  by, 
exterminate  Nayapi’s  whole  family.  The  latter  was  seized  with 
wrath  and  desire  for  revenge,  and  certainly  would  have  wreaked 
a  terrible  vengeance  upon  his  enemy  if  regard  for  the  Catholic 
monks,  under  whose  protection  Palati  stood,  had  not  made  him  ab¬ 
stain  from  carrying  it  out.  It  may  be  added  that  the  Canelos  In¬ 
dians,  although  Christians  by  name,  are  known  as  exceedingly  clever 
witches,  even  the  savage  Jibaros  acknowledging  their  superiorit}^ 
to  themselves  in  this  art. 

Often  the  hostility  between  two  tribes  is  only  latent,  becoming  sud¬ 
denly  active  through  some  occasional  incident,  when  a  war  ensues. 
Thus,  as  already  mentioned,  a  series  of  deaths,  which  are  attributed 
to  the  evil  art  of  the  treacherous  enemy,  may  occasion  a  war.  It  also 
occurs  that  an  Indian,  traveling  through  the  territory  of  a  foreign 


16 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


tribe,  with  which  his  own  stands  on  no  friendly  terms,  is  assassinated 
by  these  secret  enemies  of  his  own  people,  who  can  not  abstain  from 
taking  the  opportunity.  Such  an  occasional  assassination  may  be 
the  signal  for  a  general  war  of  extermination  between  the  two  tribes. 
This  was,  for  instance,  the  original  cause  of  the  war  which,  during 
my  sojourn  on  the  Rio  Upano,  was  carried  out  between  some  tribes 
of  the  Upano  and  the  Santiago  on  one  side,  and  the  Huambiza 
Indians  on  the  Morona  on  the  other.  The  son  of  an  influential  In¬ 
dian  on  the  Rio  Santiago  had,  on  account  of  some  old  quarrel,  been 
murdered  while  traveling  through  the  land  of  the  Huambiza  Indians. 
The  tribesmen  of  the  murdered  Indian  applied  to  the  Jibaros  on  the 
Upano  for  assistance.  The  assistance  was  given,  some  40  Upano 
Indians  going  down  the  river  to  join  their  friends  on  the  Santiago 
and  marching  with  them  against  the  Huambizas. 

Whereas  the  small  feuds  within  the  tribes  have  the  character  of 
a  private  blood  revenge,  based  on  the  principle  of  just  retaliation, 
the  wars  between  the  different  tribes  are  in  principle  wars  of  ex¬ 
termination.  In  these  there  is  no  question  about  weighing  life  against 
life ;  the  aim  is  to  completely  annihilate  the  inimical  tribe,  all  mem¬ 
bers  of  which  form  one  organic  whole  and  are  animated  by  the  same 
feelings  and  mode  of  thought.  The  victorious  party  is  all  the  more 
anxious  to  leave  no  single  person  of  the  enemy’s  people,  not  even 
small  children,  alive,  as  it  is  feared  lest  these  should  later  appear  as 
avengers  against  the  victors.  As  already  pointed  out,  it  is  also  solely 
in  such  wars  against  foreign  tribes  that  trophies  are  made  of  the 
heads  of  the  enemies  killed. 

Although  the  wars  of  the  Jibaro  Indians  are  in  their  nature  noth¬ 
ing  but  wars  of  revenge,  they  never  aim  at  territorial  conquests. 
The  Jibaros,  on  the  contrary,  fear  and  detest  the  country  of  their 
enemies,  where  secret  supernatural  dangers  may  threaten  them  even 
after  they  have  conquered  their  natural  enemies.  The  sorcerers  of 
the  hostile  tribe  may  have  left  their  witching  arrows  everywhere,  on 
the  road,  in  the  forest,  in  the  houses,  with  the  result  that  the  invad¬ 
ing  enemies  may  be  hit  by  them  when  they  least  expect  it.  The  land 
of  the  enemy  is  therefore  abandoned  as  soon  as  possible.  Besides, 
the  Jibaros  who  inhabit  endless  virgin  forests,  where  they  can  make 
new  settlements  almost  anywhere,  have  no  need  of  conquering  the 
territory  of  other  tribes. 

HOW  THE  FEUDS  AND  WARS  ARE  CARRIED  OUT 

Having  seen  how  the  wars  originate  among  the  Jibaros,  we  will 
now  examine  in  detail  how  these  wars  are  carried  out. 

When  among  the  Jibaros  a  family  father,  especially  a  chief  or  a 
great  warrior,  dies,  and  a  medicine-man,  by  drinking  natema ,  has 


karsten]  BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS  17 

established  not  only  that  death  has  been  caused  by  witchcraft  but 
also  who  the  wizard  is,  it  is  incumbent  on  his  nearest  male  relations, 
and  first  of  all  on  his  sons,  to  take  revenge  on  the  supposed  assassin. 
At  the  deathbed  of  the  father  they  make  a  solemn  promise  to  fulfill 
this  duty.  Often  the  sons  alone  carry  out  the  sanguinary  business. 
In  case  the  sorcerer  has  many  defenders  they  conjoin  the  brothers 
or  other  male  relatives  of  the  deceased.  Sometimes  the  conspirators 
also  ask  the  advice  of  the  chief  of  the  tribe,  but  the  latter  generally 
does  not  take  part  in  such  a  private  feud  unless  he  has  some  per¬ 
sonal  interest  in  it. 

Those  preparing  for  the  feud  never  omit  to  first  consult  the 
spirits,  who  will  let  them  know  whether  in  the  planned  attack  they 
will  be  successful  or  not.  This  divination,  as  already  mentioned,  is 
carried  out  through  drinking  the  narcotic  maikoa.  The  Indian  for 
this  purpose  retires  to  the  forest,  where  he  remains  for  three  days 
and  three  nights,  fasting  strictly  and  sleeping  in  a  small  “  dream¬ 
ing  ranch”  ( aydmdai ).  If  the  dreams  are  good,  among  other 
spirits  the  demons,  known  under  the  name  of  arutama ,  appear  to 
the  warrior,  speaking  to  him  and  telling  him  whether  he  will  be 
able  to  kill  the  enemy  or  whether  he  will  perhaps  be  killed  himself. 
“  That  sorcerer  who  has  bewitched  your  father  you  will  conquer  and 
kill.”  Or  they  say :  “  If  you  make  war  against  that  sorcerer  now, 
you  will  not  succeed  in  killing  him,  but  you  will  be  killed  yourself.” 
In  the  latter  case  the  avenger  desists  from  his  plan,  at  least  for  the 
present.  Again,  if  the  answer  is  favorable,  he  with  his  followers 
make  the  last  preparations  for  the  attack. 

Such  an  attack  is  sometimes  planned  and  carried  out  in  greatest 
secrecy.  Sometimes,  and  more  frequently,  the  victim  is  threatened 
beforehand,  the  avenger  letting  him  know  what  fate  is  awaiting  him. 
He  may  then  save  himself  by  quickly  flying  to  another  part  of  the 
country.  But  it  also  happens  that  he  sends  his  enemies  the  follow¬ 
ing  menacing  challenge :  “  I  have  been  told  that  you  intend  to  assault 
and  kill  me.  All  right ;  you  may  come  if  you  have  valor.  I  do  not 
fear  you,  and  I  am  ready  to  receive  you.”  Such  a  resolute  behavior 
may  cause  the  enemy  to  desist  from  the  planned  attack  or  to  post¬ 
pone  it  to  another  more  opportune  time.  Among  the  Jibaros  there 
also  exists  the  following  custom,  through  which  the  Indians  try  to 
inspire  the  enemy  they  want  to  kill  with  fear.  Of  a  piece  of  manioc 
a  likeness  of  a  human  head  in  miniature  is  formed,  which  is  sup¬ 
posed  to  represent  the  enemy  threatened.  This  head  is  put  on  the 
top  of  a  stick,  and  the  stick  is  fixed  in  the  ground  in  the  neighbor¬ 
hood  of  the  enemy’s  house.  This  procedure  is  supposed  to  have 
some  power  of  promoting  the  plans  of  the  avenger. 

The  conspirators  prepare  for  the  assault  first  by  performing  that 
war  dance  or  exercise  with  the  lance  which  is  called  enema  or  anekma 


18 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


(in  Quichua  tunguni ),  and  which  will  be-  described  in  connection 
with  the  real  wars.  The  enema  takes  place  every  night  during 
the  last  week  before  the  attack  is  made.  The  warriors  drink  much 
manioc  beer  to  get  strength  and  smoke  much  tobacco,  partly  to  ac¬ 
quire  strength  and  resistance,  partly  to  ward  off  evil  supernatural 
influences.  On  the  eve  of  the  day  of  making  the  attack  they  paint 
their  face,  breast,  arms,  and  legs  black  with  genipa  (in  Jibaro  called 
sica ,  in  Quichua  huituc). 

The  attack  is  carried  out  in  different  ways,  depending  on  the  cir¬ 
cumstances.  Sometimes  the  victim  is  attacked  in  his  house  at  night, 
sometimes  while  he  is  working  outside  or  traveling.  In  the  former 
case  the  assault  is  made  a  little  before  dawn,  at  4  or  5  o’clock  in 
the  morning.  The  Jibaros  begin  their  day  very  early,  and  the 
family  father  is  the  first  who  gets  up.  Since  it  is  difficult  or  impossi¬ 
ble  to  force  the  entrance,  the  enemies  generally  avail  themselves  of 
the  opportunity  when  he  opens  the  door  to  perform  his  necessary 
duties.  At  this  moment  they  rush  upon  him  and  kill  him  with  their 
lances.  If  they  are  armed  with  guns  or  rifles  and  the  house  is  not 
especially  fortified  they  creep  along  to  the  wall  and  through  a  part¬ 
ing  in  it  try  to  give  the  sorcerer  the  death-dealing  shot  while  he 
is  sitting  at  the  fire  preparing  his  tobacco  water  or  his  guayusa. 
Having  accomplished  the  deed,  the  assassins  quickly  steal  away, 
leaving  the  rest  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  house  unmolested. 

It  is,  however,  easier  to  kill  the  enemy  while  he  is  outside  the 
house,  working  or  occasionally  wandering  in  the  forest.  The  con¬ 
spirators  beforehand  carefully  inquire  about  the  movements  of  the 
intended  victim,  and  ambush  at  a  place  along  the  path  where  he  has 
to  pass.  This  place  is  generally  one  where  appears  some  natural 
obstacle,  consisting  of  a  small  rivulet  which  the  sorcerer  has  to  wade 
across,  or  of  a  swamp  where  he  is  obliged  to  go  slowly.  Sometimes 
they  also  put  up  along  the  path  some  of  the  secret  signs  which  the 
Jibaros  use  as  road  marks,  or  to  give  friends  indications  as  to  the 
direction  they  ought  to  take.  When  the  sorcerer  arrives  here,  he 
stops  to  examine  what  the  mark  means.  At  this  moment  the  enemies 
rush  forward  and  pierce  him  with  their  lances  or  shoot  him  to  death. 
The  dead  body  is  left  lying  on  the  path  or  is  thrown  into  the  forest. 

It,  of  course,  also  occurs  that  the  sorcerer  is  able  successfully  to 
defend  himself,  nay,  even  to  kill  his  assailants.  The  sorcerers  are 
nearly  always  warriors  at  the  same  time — a  fact  quite  natural  on 
account  of  the  danger  of  their  profession — and  always  go  armed,  one 
threatened  by  his  enemies,  of  course,  being  especially  on  the  alert. 

On  the  return  from  such  a  feud  the  avengers  have  for  some  time 
to  observe  certain  rules  of  precaution  with  regard  to  their  mode  of 
life.  The  restrictions  laid  upon  them  are,  however,  much  milder  than 


kaksten]  BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS  19 

those  a  Jibaro  has  to  observe  after  he  has  killed  an  enemy  of  a 
foreign  tribe,  and  essentially  consist  in  fasting  and  sexual  abstinence. 
During  the  two  first  days  the  slayer  or  slayers  must  abstain  from 
drinking  manioc  beer  ( nihamanchi ) ,  the  national  beverage  of  the 
Jibaro  Indians.  His  food  consists  of  boiled  and  mashed  manioc,  a 
dish  called  nauma ,  or  of  another  kind  of  root  fruit  resembling  the 
manioc,  called  sangu  by  the  Jibaros  and  mandi  in  the  Quichua  lan¬ 
guage.  He  likewise  eats  a  dish  prepared  of  manioc  and  the  leaves 
of  the  plant  sangu ,  called  ambi.  He  is  forbidden  to  eat  pork  and 
chicken,  as  well  as  the  flesh  of  the  large  wild  hog  ( unta  pakki) ,  and  of 
any  kind  of  monkey.  On  the  other  hand,  he  is  allowed  to  eat  the 
small  peccary  ( yankipi )  and  the  small  rodent  agouti  ( kayuka ). 
He  eats  only  the  small  birds  of  the  forest  which  are  killed  with  blow¬ 
pipe  and  nonpoisoned  arrows.  He  eats  only  the  smallest  kinds  of 
fish  existing  in  the  rivers,  sardines,  and  small  shellfishes  ( chumakai 
shachma) .  This  diet  is  continued  for  two  or  three  months.  During 
the  first  month  after  having  killed  the  sorcerer  the  Jibaro  is  likewise 
forbidden  to  sleep  in  his  house,  and  passes  his  nights  in  a  small 
ranch  made  on  the  bank  of  the  river.  After  the  lapse  of  the  month 
he  goes  to  a  natural  small  waterfall  ( paccha  or  sasa)  and  takes  a 
cold  bath,  letting  the  water  fall  on  his  naked  body.  After  this  puri¬ 
fication  he  returns  to  his  home  and  may  sleep  in  his  house,  not  with 
his  wife  but  in  the  fore-room  or  department  of  the  men  (called 
tangdmasha).  This  sexual  abstinence  is  observed  as  long  as  the  fast¬ 
ing,  namely,  for  two,  or,  among  some  Jibaros,  three  months.  ~  If  the 
rules  mentioned  are  infringed  by  the  slayer  the  soul  of  the  killed 
enemy,  who  constantly  follows  him  thirsting  for  revenge,  will  take 
his  life. 

Whereas  this  blood  revenge  within  the  tribe  is  most  often  carried 
out  simply  through  assassinations,  the  feuds  fought  out  between  the 
different  tribes  are  naturally  on  a  larger  scale  and  with  more  reason 
deserve  the  name  of  “  wars.”  In  all  his  feuds,  however,  the  Indian, 
if  possible,  avoids  open  fights,  having  recourse  to  treachery,  assas¬ 
sinations,  and  sudden,  generally  night,  attacks.  But  if  a  real 
combat  and  hand-to-hand  fighting  ensue,  the  Jibaro  warrior  (pi. 
4,  b)  often  displays  both  valor  and  contempt  of  death,  a  fact  that  is 
fully  proved  by  the  history  of  the  Indians.  Not  to  take  flight,  not  to 
abandon  his  comrades  in  such  a  situation,  but  gallantly  to  meet  the 
enemy  with  lance  and  shield,  is  the  ambition  of  every  real  Jibaro 
warrior,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  the  education  of  the  boys  from  the 
beginning  aims  at  imparting  to  them  the  qualities  necessary  for  such 
behavior. 

The  general  expression  of  the  Jibaros  for  a  war,  and  more  par¬ 
ticularly  one  that  is  fought  out  against  a  foreign  tribe,  is  meseta , 


20 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


and  to  make  war  means  nanki  hukitinyu ,  literally  “  to  carry  lance 
for  the  combat.” 

When  a  whole  tribe,  or  eventually  several  tribes  in  union,  prepare 
a  war  against  one  or  more  other  tribes,  the  first  thing  done  is  to  elect 
a  common  chief.  He  should  be  an  elderly,  experienced  man,  who  has 
taken  part  in  several  wars,  killed  many  enemies,  and  celebrated  at 
least  one  tsantsa  feast.  The  rest  of  the  warriors,  who  are  generally 
younger  men,  swear  him  unlimited  obedience.  During  the  time  the 
expedition  is  planned  and  the  preparations  are  made,  the  warriors, 
and  especially  the  chief,  repeatedly  drink  maikoa  or  natema  to  con¬ 
sult  the  spirits.  They  pay  great  attention  to  their  dreams,  even  to 
those  not  produced  under  the  direct  influence  of  the  narcotic  drinks ; 
tell  them  to  each  other,  and  discuss  their  possible  significations.  Only 
in  case  they  believe  that  they  have  received  favorable  answers  and 
all  omens  are  good  are  measures  taken  to  carry  out  the  war  plan  con¬ 
ceived.  Meanwhile  they  try,  through  spies,  to  acquire  as  accurate  a 
knowledge  as  possible  about  everything  concerning  the  enemy:  how 
many  houses  there  are  in  the  tract,  how  many  fighting  men  in  each 
house,  if  the  houses  are  fortified,  if  the  men  are  well  armed,  and 
especially  if  they  have  firearms.  All  these  and  similar  details  the 
spies  investigate  by  making  trips  into  the  country  of  the  enemy 
and  by  stealing  at  night  to  the  houses.  Everything  is  prepared  with 
the  greatest  secrecy  possible,  so  that  the  enemy  is  caught  unprepared, 
for  otherwise  he  will  have  time  to  take  measures  of  defense  that 
may  defeat  the  whole  undertaking. 

About  a  week  before  the  warriors  start  for  the  expedition  they 
assemble  every  night  in  the  house  of  the  chief,  who  develops  the 
plan  of  the  war,  gives  his  men  the  necessary  instructions,  exhorts 
them  to  take  courage,  not  to  fear  the  enemy,  not  to  abandon  their 
comrades,  etc.  Part'  of  these  instructions  are  given  during  the 
war  dance  or  exercise  with  the  lance,  which  is  called  enema  or 
anekma  (the  corresponding  verb  is  enemdrtinyu  or  anekmdktinyu) . 
Enema  is  a  dialogue  between  two  warriors,  who  through  certain 
movements  of  the  body,  and  especially  of  their  lances,  give  empha¬ 
sis  to  their  words.  Enema  with  the  lance  (or  with  a  rifle)  takes 
place  not  only  as  a  preparation  for  a  war,  but  also,  for  instance, 
when  two  Indians,  who  are  unknown  to  each  other,  suddenly  meet 
while  traveling  in  the  forest  (pi.  5,  «),  or  when  unknown  guests 
arrive  at  a  house.  The  one  party  then  has  to  find  out  who  the  new¬ 
comer  is,  if  he  comes  as  an  enemy  or  as  a  friend,  from  where  he 
comes,  where  he  is  going,  what  business  he  pursues,  etc.  The  con¬ 
versation  all  through  has  a  ceremonial  character,  and  menacing 
movements  with  the  lance  accompany  each  word  or  phrase. 

The  dialogue  at  the  enema  is  rather  stereotyped,  the  words  being 
always  about  the  same  and  being  repeated  several  times.  The  fol- 


.  Jibaro  warriors  engaged  in  the  ceremonial  salutation  b.  The  priest,  assisted  by  some  other  men,  roasting  the  manioc 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


BULLETIN  79  PLATE  6 


A  HUMAN  HEAD  TROPHY  (TSANTSA) 


KARSTEN] 


BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS 


21 


lowing  is  the  enema  conversation  among  the  tribes  of  the  Upano, 
Morona,  and  Eastaza: 

Enemartahei ,  Let  us  speak  loudly ! 

Chichama  hustai ,  Let  us  speak  words ! 

Warita  kunai ,  What  are  we  going  to  say? 

Warn  irurtai ,  Let  us  quickly  assemble ! 

Tumashi  akerkatai ,  Let  us  avenge  the  blood-guilt! 

Kashini  kanartai ,  To-morrow  we  will  sleep  far  away. 

Warn  nikdpsatai ,  Let  us  quickly  take  our  enemy ! 

W aru ,  chichamahuomo ,  Quickly,  before  he  is  told  about  it ! 

Unta  nu ,  So  says  the  Old  One  (the  chief). 

Warn  wakitketai ,  uckitai ,  Let  us  go,  to  return  quickly,  youths! 

Uuomokki ,  huomokki ,  Quickly,  quickly ! 

Manydhei,  We  have  been  fighting! 

Mabel,  We  have  killed ! 

Tumashi  ayambruamdkaliei ,  We  have  revenged  the  blood. 

Muka  tsupiktai ,  Let  us  cut  off  the  head  (of  the  enemy)  ! 

Hukitai ,  Let  us  carry  it  with  us. 

Enemartinyu  ( enemartahei )  means  “to  speak  in  a  loud  voice,” 
which  is  consistent  with  the  fact  that  the  Indians  do  not  speak  in 
an  ordinary  voice  but  shout  while  carrying  out  the  enema  conversa¬ 
tion.  Each  phrase  is  strongly  contracted  in  the  pronunciation,  so 
as  to  consist  only  of  two  to  four  syllables,  which  naturally  makes 
the  conversation  entirely  unintelligible  to  one  who  does  not  know 
the  words.  In  return,  the  phrase  thus  contracted  is  repeated  twice, 
corresponding  to  the  movements  of  the  body.  Thus,  for  instance, 
the  beginning  of  the  conversation: 

Chichama  hustai , 

W arita  kunai , 

W aru  irurtai ,  etc. 
turns  out  as  follows: 

Chamurstai  chamursti , 

W  aritkunai  waritkuni , 

W  arurtai  warurti , 
and  so  on. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  conversation  the  two  warriors  face  each 
other,  each  having  the  lance  resting  on  the  right  shoulder.  They 
speak  by  turn.  The  Indian  speaking  pronounces  the  phrase  in  a  loud 
voice,  holding  the  hand  over  the  mouth.  With  the  right  arm,  upon 
which  the  lance  rests,  he  simultaneously  makes  a  movement  as  if 
to  give  emphasis  to  the  words,  but  he  does  not,  in  the  beginning, 
swing  the  lance  and  does  not  move  from  the  spot.  Again,  in  the 
second  repetition  or  the  latter  part  of  the  conversation  the  following 
movement  takes  place.  The  Indian  who  has  the  word  takes  one 


22 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


step  toward  his  opponent,  beginning  with  the  left  foot,  simulta¬ 
neously  raises  the  right  arm  with  the  lance  and  lets  it  fall  vibrating 
down  on  the  shoulder;  immediately  thereafter  he  goes  back  to  the 
original  position,  at  the  same  time  again  swinging  the  lance  over 
his  shoulder.  This  whole  series  of  movements  is  performed  quickly 
and  at  one  time,  accompanying  the  phrase  pronounced :  chamurstai 
chamursti ,  etc.  One  of  the  conversing  Indians  having  several  times 
repeated  this  movement  with  its  corresponding  phrases,  he  stops 
and  stands  still,  the  other  one  then  speaking.  The  whole  enema 
conversation  lasts  about  15  minutes. 

When  a  war  expedition  is  prepared  in  which  many  Indians  take 
part,  enema  is  performed  on  a  large  scale.  The  warriors  arrange 
themselves  in  two  rows,  one  against  the  other,  so  that  at  the  ceremony 
they  converse  two  and  two.  If  their  number  is,  for  instance,  40, 
20  are  arranged  in  each  row.  Enema  is  then  performed  simultane¬ 
ously  by  all  warriors  of  one  row  while  those  of  the  opposite  row 
stand  still  with  the  lances  on  their  shoulders,  accompanying  the 
movements  and  words  of  the  other  party  with  slight  gestures  of 
the  arms.  Having  performed  the  enema  for  some  minutes,  the 
men  of  the  first  row  keep  silence  and  those  of  the  second  row  speak,  etc. 

The  enema  conversation,  as  we  have  seen,  implies  a  mutual  exhor¬ 
tation  for  war  and  the  future  course  of  the  combat  is  passed  through, 
whereat  naturally  a  successful  issue  of  it  is  anticipated.  It  is  clear 
that  we  are  not  here  dealing  with  an  ordinary  exercise  with  the 
arms.  The  whole  thing  is  a  magical  ceremony  by  which  the  Jibaros 
believe  themselves  to  be  able  to  conjure  forth  victory  over  the  enemy. 
By  making  enema  the  Jibaro  warrior  is  supposed  to  get  strength, 
courage,  and  confidence  for  the  coming  fight.  The  war  dance  is, 
moreover,  believed  to  enable  him  to  escape  the  lances  and  bullets  of 
the  enemy  in  the  combat.  Besides,  the  enemy  himself  is  thereby 
lulled  into  security  so  that  he  will  not  be  aware  of  the  danger  threat¬ 
ening,  but  will  be  surprised  by  the  assailants.  Without  enema  prepa¬ 
ration  no  war  expedition  is  believed  to  result  favorably.  Hence,  also, 
when  a  house  is  assaulted  by  enemies  at  night,  its  defenders  hurry  to 
make  enema  with  each  other  before  they  go  to  meet  the  intruding 
enemy. 

About  1  o’clock  in  the  night,  when  the  new  day  is  supposed  to 
begin,  the  warriors  assembled  in  the  house  of  the  chief  start  to  per¬ 
form  enema ,  which  they  continue  until  the  break  of  day.  This  is 
repeated  every  night  during  one  week. 

Besides  this  war  dance,  the  Jibaros  try  to  secure  victory  over  the 
enemy  through  a  kind  of  war  song.  This  war  song,  which  is  called 
anendrata ,  is  sung  by  the  warriors  in  the  house  before  they  start  for 
the  expedition. 


karsten] 


BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS 


23 


The  anendrata  runs  as  follows : 

Yachuta ,  yachuta ,  My  brother,  my  brother, 

Meseta  himersatai ,  Let  us  make  war  together ! 

Winya  uchiruna  cMchahei ,  To  my  son  also  I  have  said: 

Uchita,  uchita ,  My  son,  my  son, 

Kakarum  hasti ,  kakarum  hasti ,  Make  you  strong,  make  you  brave ! 

Winy  aka  mastinyu ,  Me  they  won’t  kill. 

HX&a  miser chatinyu,  I  will  not  die ! 

Shuar  a  mdkatahei ,  Myself  I  will  kill  my  enemy  ! 

Kanarahei ,  kanarahei ,  I  have  dreamed  and  my  dreams  have  been 
good. 

Arutama  weinikama ,  I  have  seen  “  the  Old  Ones !  ”x 

Shuara  achiktahei ,  I  will  take  my  enemy. 

Yamai  achikahei ,  I  have  him  already! 

Manyasa  puhustahei ,  Presently  I  will  be  engaged  in  fighting ! 

TTafo&i,  shuarasha  winiti ,  uiniti ,  All  right,  may  my  enemy  come, 
may  he  come ! 

Winyasha  mandodti ,  And  may  he  take  my  life  if  he  can ! 

ITmya  w.andoama  assa ,  If  he  kills  me. 

weinikati ,  My  sons  will  certainly  see  (that  it  will  be  re¬ 
venged)  . 

Chikichika  mati ,  May  he  kill  some  one  else ! 

Anendrata  has  much  the  same  magical  significance  as  the  war 
dance  enema ,  it  being  believed  to  give  victory  over  the  enemy. 

The  warriors,  moreover,  prepare  for  the  expedition  by  drinking 
much  manioc  beer  (niliamanchi) ,  as  they  do  for  all  big  travels,  with¬ 
out,  however,  getting  too  drunk.  They  likewise  take  much  tobacco, 
partly  in  the  form  of  tobacco  water,  which  is  drawn  in  through  the 
nose,  partly  in  the  form  of  cigars,  which  are  smoked. 

The  preparations  of  the  men  take  place  in  the  large  fore  room  of 
the  house  (tang dmasha) .  The  women  the  whole  time  remain  in  the 
interior  department  (department  of  the  women,  ekinturu)  and  do 
not  mix  in  the  activities  of  the  men.  The  Jibaros  on  the  Upano  told 
me  they  do  not  even  take  leave  of  their  wives  before  they  start  for 
the  expedition.  If  the  chief  has  a  wife  who  is  particularly  attached  to 
him  she  may,  however,  come  out,  embrace  her  husband,  weeping,  and 
say:  “Perhaps  you  will  be  killed  by  the  enemy  and  never  return.” 
The  chief  then  consoles  her,  saying,  “  I  have  had  good  dreams ;  I 
won’t  be  killed,  but  will  return  with  the  heads  of  my  enemies.  Mean¬ 
while  stay  you  here,  quietly  making  clay  vessels.”1  2 

1  “  The  Old  Ones”  (arutama),  the  spirits  of  the  ancestors,  who  appear  to  the  warrior 
in  the  narcotic  sleep  and  tell  him  that  he  will  be  able  to  kill  his  enemies. 

2  As  if  she  were  already  making  preparations  for  the  coming  victory  feasts.  The  fabri¬ 
cation  of  clay  vessels  is  the  principal  preparation  of  the  women  for  all  feasts. 


24 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


The  Jibaro  chief  Nayapi,  on  the  Rio  Pastaza,  told  me  that  among 
his  people  the  warrior  starting  for  an  expedition  takes  tender  leave 
of  his  wife,  embracing  her  and  consoling  her,  but  at  the  same  time 
preparing  her  for  the  eventuality  that  he,  perhaps,  will  never  return 
and  never  see  her  again. 

Among  the  Jibaros  of  the  Pastaza  it  is  also  customary  for  the 
women  during  the  whole  time  the  men  are  absent  on  the  warpath  to 
assemble  every  night  in  one  house  and  perform  a  special  dance  with 
rattles  of  snail  shells  around  the  waist  and  chanting  conjurations. 
This  war  dance  of  the  women,  which  is  called  ihidmbrama ,  is  supposed 
to  have  the  power  of  protecting  their  fathers,  husbands,  and  sons 
against  the  lances  and  bullets  of  the  enemy,  of  lulling  the  latter  into 
security  so  that  he  will  not  apprehend  the  danger  before  it  is  too  late, 
and  lastly  of  preventing  him  from  taking  revenge  ( ayambruamak - 
tinyu)  for  the  defeat  inflicted  upon  him.  The  dance  ihidmbrama  thus 
has  much  the  same  magical  significance  as  the  war  dance  endvia  and 
the  war  song  ar\endrata. 

The  warriors  march  from  the  house  of  the  chief  in  a  single  row, 
going  one  after  the  other,  and  strictly  observing  silence.  The 
chief  goes  out  last  and  shuts  the  door.  During  the  whole  journey 
to  the  scene  of  the  war,  a  journey  that  takes  several  days,  sometimes 
even  weeks,  the  warriors  are  allowed  to  speak  only  when  necessary, 
and  even  then  not  in  a  loud  voice  but  in  a  whisper.  Only  the  chief 
has  the  right  to  speak  in  a  loud  voice  when  at  the  camping  places  he 
gives  his  men  the  necessary  instructions.  As  soon  as  the  warriors 
arrive  at  the  place  where  they  propose  to  camp  that  night  they  ar¬ 
range  themselves  in  two  rows,  keeping  silence.  The  chief  walks 
along  the  rows  and  gives  his  instructions,  exposes  the  details  of  the 
attack  planned  and,  above  all,  tries  to  dispel  fear  of  the  young  war¬ 
riors  and  to  inspire  them  with  courage.  Although  on  the  march  to 
the  war  the  chief  no  longer  drinks  maihoa  or  natema ,  he  still  pays 
great  attention  to  his  dreams  and  from  them  tries  to  derive  favorable 
presages.  Thus  he  may  with  the  following  words  try  to  inspire  his 
people  with  courage  and  confidence:  “Take  courage  and  don’t  fear, 
for  I  dreamed  this  night  that  I  saw  the  great  eagle  ( unta  pinchu) 
and  the  toucan  (tsuhanga) .  They  told  me  that  we  are  going  to  take 
a  waJcani  (a  soul).  You  are  not  going  to  die;  you  are  going  to  be 
victors  and  to  kill  vour  enemies.” 

On  the  eve  of  the  day  fixed  for  the  attack  the  warriors  arrange 
their  dress.  The  Jibaro  always  pays  great  attention  to  his  dress 
and  his  ornaments,  which  form  a  part  of  his  personality,  and  at  the 
feasts  the  dressing  has  a  ceremonial  character.  The  dress  of  the 
Jibaro  Indian  normally  consists  of  a  loin  cloth  ( itipi )  which  is  at¬ 
tached  to  the  waist  by  means  of  a  cincture  of  human  hair  ( aJcachu ), 


KARSTEN ] 


blood  revenge,  war,  and  victory  feasts 


25 


and  of  another  small  square  cloth,  called  awangeama,  which  covers 
the  shoulders,  with  a  hole  in  the  middle  to  pass  the  head  through. 
The  long  hair,  which  is  carefully  washed  and  attended  every  day,  is 
divided  into  three  pigtails,  a  large  one  at  the  neck  and  two  small  ones 
at  the  temples.  In  the  ears  the  Jibaro  always  carries  ear  tubes 
( arusa )  20  to  30  centimeters  long,  the  ends  of  which  are  frequently 
ornamented  with  incised  figures. 

When  the  Jibaro  warrior  prepares  for  an  attack  against  an  enemy 
he  puts  on  his  head  a  sort  of  cap  made  of  monkey's  skin,  which  he  pre¬ 
fers  to  the  ordinary  head  ornament  made  of  parrot  or  toucan  feath¬ 
ers  ( tawdsa ).  The  ear  tubes  ought  to  be  as  large  as  possible  so  that 
their  ends  nearly  reach  the  shoulders.  Around  the  neck  the  warrior 
wears  a  necklace  of  jaguar’s  teeth  and  around  the  waist  the  usual 
cincture  of  human  hair  (akachu).  Old  warriors,  however,  for  an  at¬ 
tack  prefer  to  cincture  themselves  with  a  broad  belt  of  skin  of  the 
great  boa.  The  uncovered  part  of  the  body,  the  face,  the  breast,  the 
back,  the  arms,  and  legs,  are  finally  painted  black  with  genipa  (sua). 

The  hair  is,  as  always,  divided  into  the  three  pigtails  mentioned,  the 
latter  being  tied  around  with  broad  bands  adorned  with  toucan  feath¬ 
ers  and  human  hair,  or  with  cotton  strings  which  are  dyed  red  with 
achiote.  The  Jibaros  on  the  Pastaza  and  the  Canelos  Indians,  for  a 
battle,  are  in  the  habit  of  tying  around  the  pigtails  or  the  hair  broad 
hasten  strips  obtained  from  a  plant  which  the  former  call  chipyata , 
the  latter  chilipanga.  These  basten  strips,  which  are  of  bright  col¬ 
ors,  are  partly  used  as  signs  by  which  the  warriors,  in  the  darkness 
and  in  the  heat  of  battle,  are  able  to  distinguish  friends  from  foes,  and 
are  also  worn  because  of  some  mysterious  power  ascribed  to  them  or 
to  the  plant  from  which  they  are  taken. 

With  regard  to  the  arrangement  of  the  dress  for  war  there  are 
three  objects  which  are  kept  in  view.  Partly,  the  Indian  tries  to  make 
his  whole  appearance  as  terrifying  as  possible  in  order  to  impress  the 
enemies;  partly,  certain  pieces  of  clothing  and  ornaments  which  he 
puts  on  are,  owing  to  some  mysterious  inherent  properties,  supposed 
to  give  him  strength  and  courage ;  lastly,  some  of  them  will  serve  as 
marks  of  recognition,  by  which  the  warriors  will  be  able  to  distin¬ 
guish  friends  from  enemies  in  the  battle.  The  black  body  painting, 
for  instance,  serves  all  these  three  aims.  It,  more  than  anything  else, 
contributes  to  giving  the  Indian  warrior  a  savage  and  terrible  ap¬ 
pearance.  The  Jibaros  say  that  for  a  combat  they  paint  themselves 
black  in  order  to  resemble  the  iguanchi  (demons),  which  implies  that 
the  body  painting  is  believed  to  impart  to  them  something  of  the  sav¬ 
age  ferocity  and  strength  of  these  supernatural  beings.  Besides,  even 
in  semidarkness  it  is  possible  to  distinguish  the  black-painted  Indian 
from  one  who  does  not  wear  that  mark  of  recognition.  The  basten 
strips  tied  around  the  pigtails  likewise,  as  already  indicated,  partly 
2119°— 23 - 3 


26 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[buix.  79 


enable  the  warriors  to  recognize  their  comrades  in  the  battle,  partly 
are  supposed  to  eke  out  that  natural  power  which  the  Indian  always 
ascribes  to  his  hair  and  his  pigtails.  To  impart  strength  and  valor 
to  the  warrior  is  also  the  object  of  the  ear  tubes,  the  necklaces  of 
jaguar’s  teeth,  and  the  belt  of  the  boa  serpent.  “Wearing  our  ear 
tubes  ( arusa ),  we  do  not  fear  anything,”  the  Jibaros  are  in  the  habit 
of  saying.  The  teeth  of  the  jaguar  and  the  belt  of  the  boa  skin  nat¬ 
urally  give  the  wearer  something  of  the  demoniac  strength  of  these 
animals.  Again,  the  power  which  the  Jibaros  attribute  to  the  cincture 
made  of  human  hair  depends  on  the  supernatural  properties  ascribed 
to  the  hair,  which  is  regarded  as  the  seat  of  the  soul  or  the  vital  en 

ergy- 

Having  arrived  at  the  tract  inhabited  by  the  hostile  tribe  the  war¬ 
riors,  if  possible,  try  to  surprise  and  kill  particular  persons  belong¬ 
ing  to  the  tribe,  who,  unaware  of  the  danger,  happen  to  be  outside 
the  houses,  working  in  the  plantations  or  walking  in  the  forest.  The 
proper  attacks  are,  however,  according  to  the  general  custom  of  the 
Indians,  made  at  night  or  early  in  the  morning,  a  little  before  dawn. 
Keeping  strict  silence,  the  enemies  surround  the  house  on  all  sides 
and  ambush  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  it,  expecting  that 
someone  will  go  out  and  open  the  door.  That  person  is  then  in¬ 
stantly  killed  by  a  lance  or  a  rifle  shot,  whereupon  the  enemies  speed¬ 
ily  penetrate  into  the  house  and  massacre  the  rest  of  its  inhabitants. 
In  case  it  proves  impossible  to  penetrate  into  the  house  by  treachery, 
the  enemies  set  fire  to  it  by  firebrands  thrown  upon  its  roofing,  oblig¬ 
ing  the  inhabitants  to  leave  it  and  killing  them  during  the  confusion 
that  follows.  If  in  this  way  the  assailants  have  been  able  to  kill  all 
the  people  in  one  house,  and  there  is  no  fear  of  other  Indians  coming 
to  the  rescue,  they  may  go  to  the  next  house  and  continue  the  mas¬ 
sacre,  for,  as  already  pointed  out,  the  wars  carried  out  against  foreign 
tribes  always  aim  at  completely  exterminating  the  enemy  if  possible. 

However,  the  enemy  is  not  always  in  this  way  surprised  and  un¬ 
prepared,  and  is  not  always  annihilated  without  resistance.  Thus 
the  measures  of  defense,  described  above,  may,  at  least  to  a  certain 
extent,  frustrate  the  plans  of  the  attacking  party. 

Not  seldom  the  inhabitants  of  the  house,  through  the  dogs  and  the 
chickens,  or  in  some  other  way,  get  knowledge  of  the  presence  of  the 
enemy,  and  the  latter  may  then  to  his  disappointment  suddenly  hear 
the  beats  of  the  great  signal  drums  in  the  fast  time  which  is  a  sure 
sign  for  the  friends  that  the  people  of  the  house  are  in  danger.  The 
assailants  then  have  to  choose  between  quickly  retiring  or  pursuing 
the  attack  and  engaging  in  a  fight  the  result  of  which,  owing  to  the 
help  eventually  arriving,  is  uncertain. 

However,  if  the  enemy  has  already  surrounded  the  house,  there 
is  little  hope  for  those  shut  up  in  it  to  be  saved  through  the  inter- 


karsten] 


BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS 


27 


vention  of  friends.  Their  possibility  of  salvation  then  consists  al¬ 
most  solely  in  breaking  through  the  besieging  ring  and  speedily  flee¬ 
ing  to  another  house  or  into  the  forest.  Before  making  this  desper¬ 
ate  attempt,  however,  all  inhabitants  of  the  house,  men,  women,  and 
children,  assemble  to  perform,  in  haste,  a~  dance,  hantsemata.  Hold¬ 
ing  each  other  by  the  hands  they  move  in  a  circle  in  the  house  in  the 
way  customary  at  most  Indian  dances,  chanting  or  making  noise  and 
playing  a  set  of  flutes  made  of  the  leg  bone  of  the  jaguar,  called 
tungili.  The  words  uttered,  or  rather  shouted,  are  the  following: 

M dsteitimi ,  They  won’t  kill  us  ! 

Mandodstatami ,  They  won’t  take  our  lives  ! 

Wuittatai ,  They  will  retire! 

Hlnikitai ,  We  will  be  able  to  escape! 

The  object  of  this  ceremony  is  to  “  tire  out  the  enemy  ”  ( shudra 
pimbiktinyu) ,  so  that  he  gives  up  the  plan  of  attacking  the  house  and 
retires.  Sometimes  it  also  occurs  that  the  besieging  enemies,  who, 
of  course,  understand  what  the  dancing  and  shouting  in  the  house 
mean,  lose  courage,  give  up  the  plan  of  attack,  and  draw  off. 

Immediately  after  the  dance  mentioned  has  been  performed  the 
inhabitants  of  the  house  try  to  escape  through  one  or  both  of  its 
doors.  As  soon  as  the  ambushing  enemies  notice  this  they  incite  each 
other  with  cries: 

Shudra  hiniwui ,  The  enemy  leaves  the  house! 

Awuimaipa ,  Don’t  let  them  escape ! 

Ihuta ,  ihuta ,  ihuta ,  Lance  them,  lance  them  ! 

During  the  fight  ensuing  it  may  happen  that  some,  or  the  ma¬ 
jority,  of  the  people  in  the  house  are  able  to  save  themselves  in  the 
darkness  and  the  confusion.  Generally,  however,  some  old  man  or 
some  women,  who  are  not  able  to  run  quickly  enough,  get  into  the 
hands  of  the  pursuing  enemy,  being  killed  or  captured.  If  the  victors 
are  satisfied  with  this  spoil,  or  if  for  one  reason  or  another  they  do 
not  venture  to  continue  the  persecution,  they  speedily  return,  carry¬ 
ing  with  them  one  or  more  heads  which  they  have  cut  off  or  some 
captured  woman,  and  giving  triumphant  war  cries: 

Hetektatai ,  May  they  now  pursue  us ! 

Aimiaydhei ,  Now  we  carry  off  their  comrade ! 

Yuhi ,  uyuhi ,  uyuhi! 

Tuo ,  tuo,  tuo!  (War  cries.) 

It  is,  however,  only  in  case  the  attacked  people  have  been  surprised 
unprepared  and  know  they  are  absolutely  inferior  to  the  enemy  that 
they  try  in  this  way  to  save  themselves  by  flight.  In  other  cases  it 
happens  that  the  attacking  enemy  is  received  by  a  number  of  well- 
prepared  and  well-armed  warriors  who,  after  having  in  a  hurry  per¬ 
formed  the  enema ,  gallantly  go  out  to  meet  the  assailants.  A  fierce 


28 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[  BULL.  79 


hand-to-hand  fight  then  ensues,  in  which  friends  and  enemies  mix 
with  each  other  in  the  darkness,  and  the  noise  of  arms  is  drowned 
by  the  inciting  war  cries  of  the  men,  by  the  cries  of  the  women  and 
the  children,  and  by  the  barking  of  the  dogs. 

The  victorious  enemy  without  mercy  wreaks  his  savage  vengeance 
not  only  upon  the  fighting  men,  but  also  on  old  people,  women,  and 
small  children,  nay,  sometimes  even  on  the  domestic  animals.  The 
younger  women  are,  however,  often  spared  and  carried  off  as  prisoners 
of  war,  their  fate  being  later  to  add  to  the  number  of  their  victors’, 
and  especially  the  chief’s,  wives.  There  are  also  numerous  instances 
of  small  children  being  spared  to  be  brought  up  as  members  of  the 
victorious  tribe.  For  the  rest,  the  Indian  does  not  content  himself 
with  merely  killing  his  enemy.  He  wants  to  shed  as  much  blood  as 
possible  and  delights  in  mutilating  the  body  of  the  slain  enemy,  being 
especially  anxious  to  secure  his  head.  The  scene  of  a  battle  between 
Jibaro  Indians,  therefore,  generally  appears  a  dreadful  spectacle  of 
savage  lust  of  destruction  and  thirst  for  blood. 

The  lance,  a  terrible  weapon  of  the  Jibaros,  inspires  not  only  liv¬ 
ing  men  but  even  the  spirits  and  demons  with  fear.  The  soul  of 
an  Indian-  killed  with  the  lance  in  terror  flees  far  away  from  the 
mutilated  body  and  does  not  remain  for  some  time  in  the  neighbor¬ 
hood,  as  is  believed  to  be  the  case  at  ordinary  death.  The  rela¬ 
tives  themselves  stand  in  such  horror  of  the  dead  body  that  they 
only  hurriedly  bury  it  on  the  same  spot  where  they  find  it,  there¬ 
after  speedily  leaving  the  place.  The  devoted  cult  which  the  Ji¬ 
baros  generally  pay  to  their  dead  relatives  entirely  fails  with  regard 
to  those  killed  in  war,  and  food  is  never  put  on  their  graves. 

THE  HEAD  TROPHY  (TSANTSA)  AND  ITS  PREPARA¬ 
TION 

As  pointed  out  before,  the  Jibaros  never  make  trophies  (pi.  6)  of 

the  heads  of  such  enemies  as  belong  to  their  own  tribe;  that  is,  with 

whom  they  reckon  blood  relationship.  An  Indian  who  did  this 

would  run  the  risk  of  being  himself  killed  by  his  tribesmen,  even  by 

those  neutral  before.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  the  rule  that  when 

a  victory  has  been  attained  over  a  foreign  tribe,  the  heads  of  the 

slain  enemies  are  taken.  Most  Jibaro  warriors  would  consider  anv 

%} 

victory  over  such  an  enemy  incomplete,  and  the  whole  war  expedi¬ 
tion  more  or  less  a  failure,  unless  they  returned  with  one  or  several 
head  trophies.  It,  of  course,  not  seldom  happens  that  the  Jibaro 
is  able  to  kill  an  enemy  but  not  to  take  his  head,  because  his  com¬ 
rades  are  able  to  secure  the  dead  body  and  perhaps  to  defeat  the 
slayers.  In  such  a  case  there  can  not  be  a  real  victory  feast.  It 
occurs,  however,  sometimes,  that  an  enthusiastic  Jibaro  warrior  in- 


karsten] 


BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS 


29 


vites  his  friends  and  celebrates  a  small  feast,  consisting  in  drinking 
bouts  and  dancing,  although  he  has  not  been  able  to  capture  a  trophy 
but  only  to  kill  his  enemy. 

Contrariwise,  it  may  happen  in  exceptional  cases  that  a  Jibaro, 
although  he  has  acquired  a  trophy,  does  not  care  to  celebrate  a  feast 
with  it,  either  because  he  considers  himself  too  poor  to  procure  the 
great  supply  of  food  necessary  for  the  many  guests  at  such  a  feast 
or  because  he  has  not  enough  people  in  his  house  to  prepare  it  or 
friends  to  invite  to  it.  Thus  the  great  Jibaro  chief  Nayapi,  of 
Pastaza,  has  killed  about  20  enemies,  but  has  not  celebrated  a  single 
tsantsa  feast,  evidently  in  part  because  his  many  enemies  have  not 
given  him  the  peace  and  tranquillity  necessary  for  preparing  such  a 
feast. 

The  rule  is,  however,  among  the  Jibaros  that  a  warrior  who  has 
captured  a  head  ( tsantsa )  should  celebrate  a  feast.  The  head  feast 
for  the  Jibaro  opens  the  road  to  honor  and  fame,  to  material  wealth, 
to  new  victories  over  enemies,  and  a  long  life.  It  is  the  great  mys¬ 
tery  feast  of  the  Jibaro  Indians;  as  will  presently  be  seen,  it  in  part 
has  a  purely  religious  significance,  inasmuch  as  the  Jibaro  through 
the  ceremonies  thereby  performed  believes  he  acquires  the  same  bene¬ 
fits  as  most  other  savage  peoples  try  to  acquire  by  cult  actions  of 
dilferent  kinds. 

As  soon  as  a  Jibaro  warrior  has  killed  an  enemy  of  another  tribe 
he  at  once  tries  to  secure  his  head,  which  he  cuts  off  as  close  to  the 
trunk  as  possible.  The  warrior  who  has  cut  off  the  head  ( muka  tsu- 
pikma)  is  the  “lord  of  the  head”  ( muka  heindinyu )  and  the  first 
who,  when  the  victors  are  many,  has  the  right  to  celebrate  a  feast 
with  it.  When  several  Indians  in  union  have  killed  one  enemy  it  is 
customary  for  each  of  them  in  turn  to  celebrate  a  victory  feast  with 
the  trophy,  which  in  this  case  is  taken  from  one  house  to  another. 

During  the  speedy  return  which  generally  follows  upon  a  success¬ 
ful  attack  there  is  not  always  time  for  the  victors  to  at  once  begin 
with  the  preparation  of  the  trophy.  They  at  first  have  to  put  them¬ 
selves  in  safety  from  the  eventually  pursuing  enemy.  Thus  it  occurs 
that  they  carry  the  bloody  head  with  them  during  a  couple  of  days 
before  they  get  an  opportunity  to  “skin”  it  ( muka  sukurtinyu).  In 
this  work  only  those  warriors  engage  who  have  taken  part  in  the  kill¬ 
ing  of  the  enemy.  If  the  victors  are  many,  and  they  have  been  able 
to  acquire  only  one  head,  it  happens  that  some  of  them  separate 
themselves  from  the  rest,  saying:  “We  go  off  to  kill  other  enemies 
and  to  capture  our  own  heads.” 

Those  who  remain  now  start  to  take  off  the  scalp  from  the  head. 
At  first  the  following  small  ceremony  takes  place  :  The  head  is  placed 
upon  a  large  leaf  on  the  ground.  Upon  the  head  there  is  placed 
another  leaf  of  the  forest  which  the  Jibaros  call  pingi  nuka<  and  to 


30 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


which  certain  magical  virtues  are  ascribed.  The  warrior  who  cuts 
off  the  head  now  seats  himself  on  this  “seat”  and  receives  juice  of 
tobacco  mixed  with  saliva  from  the  chief,  who  blows  it  in  through 
his  nose.  Then  another  of  the  slayers  takes  his  seat  on  the  head  and 
receives  juice  of  tobacco  through  the  nose,  etc.,  until  all  have  par¬ 
taken.  This  is  the  first  of  a  series  of  ceremonies  which  have  for  their 
object  the  protection  of  the  slayers  against  the  revengeful  spirit  of 
the  killed  enemy. 

The  tsantsa  is  now  prepared  in  the  following  way  :  Along  the  back 
side  of  the  head,  from  the  apex  downward,  a  long  cut  is  made  with  a 
knife,  whereupon  the  scalp  and  the  skin  of  the  face  is  slowly  and  care¬ 
fully  drawn  off  from  the  skull,  in  much  the  same  way  as  is  done  with 
the  hides  of  animals  for  stuffing.  The  skinning  of  the  face  is  said  to 
be  the  most  difficult  part  of  this  work,  for  here  the  skin  does  not 
loosen  by  merely  drawing  it  off',  but  has  to  be  cut  from  the  flesh  with 
a  sharp  knife.  The  skull  and  all  fleshy  parts  that  adhere  to  it  are 
thrown  away  and  the  scalp  obtained  is  further  prepared.  It  is  at¬ 
tached  to  a  vine  and  immersed  in  a  pot  of  boiling  water,  where  it  is 
left  for  a  while.  By  boiling  the  scalp  it  is  freed  from  microbes,  con¬ 
tracts  a  little,  and  gets  more  consistence.  It  is  then  taken  out  of  the 
pot  and  put  on  the  top  of  a  stick,  fixed  in  the  ground,  where  it  is  left 
for  a  while  until  it  has  cooled. 

A  ring  is  formed  of  a  vine  which  the  Jibaros  call  cdpi,  of  the  same 
size  as  the  circumference  of  the  ready-made  tsantsa  at  the  neck  open¬ 
ing,  and  this  ring  is  attached  to  the  trophy,  at  first  provisionally, 
and  later,  in  the  same  degree  as  the  latter  assumes  its  final  size  through 
reduction,  more  firmly.  By  means  of  a  needle  and  a  thread  consist¬ 
ing  of  a  chambira  fiber,  that  part  of  the  scalp  which,  for  the  purpose 
of  the  skinning  of  the  head,  had  been  cut  open,  is  sewn  together. 

The  reduction  of  the  trophy  iioav  should  begin.  What  at  first  is 
done  with  it,  however,  rather  has  the  character  of  some  sort  of  magi¬ 
cal  ceremony.  At  the  bank  of  the  river  three  small  round  stones 
are  looked  for,  which  are  heated  at  the  fire.  By  means  of  a  cleft 
stick  one  of  the  heated  stones  is  taken  up  from  the  fire  and  put  into 
the  head  through  the  opening  at  the  neck.  Tlrs  is  done  by  the  first 
slayer  (he  who  cuts  off  the  head  of  the  enemy),  whose  hand  is  held 
by  the  chief  or  an  old  warrior.  The  head  is  kept  in  motion  so  that 
the  heated  stone  rolls  to  and  fro  within  it,  burning  off  a  part  of  the 
blood  and  flesh  which  is  still  attached  to  the  scalp.  The  stone  is 
subsequently  taken  out  and  again  put  in  the  fire.  The  same  proced¬ 
ure  is  repeated  with  the  second  stone,  and  lastly  with  the  third  stone. 
The  stones  used  are  each  time  put  back  on  the  fire,  where  they  are 
left. 

Since  a  similar  procedure  is  afterwards  undertaken  with  heated 
sand,  the  use  of  the  three  small  stones  seems  somewhat  superfluous. 


karsten] 


BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS 


31 


Probably  the  object  of  this  treatment  is  only  to  mortify  the  sonl  of 
the  killed  enemy,  attached  to  the  scalp,  and  to  keep  it  at  bay.  This 
explanation  is  made  more  probable  by  the  fact  that  the  ceremony 
with  the  three  stones  is  repeated  later,  at  the  great  feast,  and  ob¬ 
viously  without  practical  aim. 

The  proper  reduction  of  the  trophy  is  brought  about  by  means  of 
hot  sand.  Some  fine  sand  is  taken  from  *the  river  bank  and  heated 
at  the  fire  in  a  piece  of  broken  clay  pot  ( hakachi ).  When  the  sand 
is  sufficiently  hot  it  is  poured  into  the  head  so  as  to  more  than  Half  fill 
it.  The  head  is  kept  in  motion  so  that  the  sand  acts  uniformly  upon 
all  its  parts.  The  object  of  this  procedure  is  to  remove  the  flesh  still 
attached  to  the  skin,  to  make  the  scalp  thinner,  and  to  reduce  the 
whole  trophy.  This  is  attained  by  the  procedure  with  the  hot  sand 
being  repeated  many  times.  As  soon  as  the  sand  has  cooled  it  is 
taken  out  of  the  head,  reheated  at  the  fire  in  the  broken  clay  pot,  and 
again  poured  into  the  head.  Each  time,  after  taking  out  the  sand 
from  the  head,  the  scalp  is  scraped  inside  with  a  knife  in  order  to  re¬ 
move  from  it  what  the  sand  has  burned  off.  As  the  trophy  dries  and 
shrinks  through  this  treatment  the  head,  and  especially  the  face,  is 
cleverly  molded  with  the  fingers,  so  that  it  retains  its  human  features, 
becoming  like  the  head  of  a  small  dwarf.  This  work  is  continued 
during  the  whole  return  from  the  war,  eventually  even  at  home,  con¬ 
sequently  during  several  days  or  even  weeks,  the  same  sand  and  the 
same  broken  clay  vessel  being  always  used.  These  things  are  ahvays 
kept  and  carried  on  the  march  by  the  first  slayer,  whose  duty  it  is,  as 
soon  as  the  party  arrives  at  a  camping  place,  to  collocate  the  clay  pot 
on  the  fire  and  heat  sand  for  the  molding  of  the  trophy. 

It  is  considered  necessary  that  the  sand  shall  be  heated  in  an  old 
broken  clay  pot.  An  entire  clay  vessel,  or  a  piece  of  a  quite  new  clay 
vessel,  would  not  do. 

By  this  treatment  the  Jibaros  are  able  to  gradually  reduce  the 
head  to  such  an  extent  that  it  is  no  larger  than  an  orange,  or  about 
one-fourth  of  its  normal  size,  becoming  at  the  same  time  completely 
hard  and  dry.  Through  both  lips,  shrunk  in  proportion  to  the  rest 
of  the  head,  three  small  chonta  pins,  about  5  centimeters  in  length 
and  painted  red  with  achiote ,  are  passed  parallel  with  each  other, 
and  around  these  pins  a  fine  ootton  string,  which  is  also  painted  red. 
is  wmund.  At  the  great  feast  both  the  chonta  pins  and  the  cotton 
string  are  removed  and  replaced  by  three  twined  and  red-painted 
cotton  strings.  Lastly  the  whole  trophy,  even  the  face,  is  dyed 
black  with  charcoal  (pi.  6). 

During  the  whole  w7ork  particular  attention  has  been  paid  to  the 
hair,  which  is  the  most  essential  part  of  the  trophy.  Among  the 
Jibaros  the  men  as  a  rule  wear  their  hair  much  longer  than  the 
women,  and  tsantsas  with  hair  half  a  meter  or  more  loner  are  there- 

C5 


32 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  70 


fore  not  uncommon.  The  hair,  according  to  the  idea  of  the  Indians, 
is  the  seat  of  the  soul  or  the  vital  power. 

Since  the  tsantsa  itself  is  an  object  charged  with  supernatural 
power,  it  is  intelligible  that  many  arrangements  at  its  preparation 
are  of  a  magical  nature  or  depend  on  superstitious  ideas  of  one  kind 
or  another.  This  holds  good,  for  instance,  of  the  ceremony  with 
the  three  heated  stones,  described  before.  Likewise,  the  arrange¬ 
ment  with  the  red-painted  chonta  pins,  with  which  the  lips  are 
pierced,  and  the  red  cotton  string  wound  round  them,  as  well  as  the 
blackening  of  the  trophy,  do  not  serve  any  reasonable  practical 
purpose,  but  must  be  set  down  to  pure  superstition.  The  Jibaros 
themselves,  who  mostly  try  to  give  as  natural  an  explanation  of 
their  strange  practices  as  possible,  say  that  the  chonta  pins  are 
applied  with  a  view  to  keeping  the  mouth  of  the  trophy  closed,  and 
that  the  red-painted  cotton  string  is  merely  a  decoration.  Since, 
however,  the  Indians  ascribe  a  special  mysterious  power  to  the 
hardwood  of  the  spring  chonta  palm — a  power  further  increased 
through  the  red  paint — and  red-painted  cotton  string  likewise  plays 
a  part  in  their  superstitious  practices,  it  is  more  than  probable  that 
the  real  aim  of  the  ornaments  mentioned  is  to  keep  the  soul  of  the 
murdered  enemy  under  a  constant  magical  force,  perhaps  also  to 
paralyze  the  curses  proceeding  from  the  mouth  of  the  victim.  With 
the  same  view  the  tsantsa  is  at  the  feast  generally  held  tied  to  a 
lance  of  chonta. 

The  preparation  of  the  head  trophy  requires  great  skill  and  care, 
for  through  some  slight  carelessness,  for  instance,  at  the  removal  of 
the  scalp,  or  at  the  burning,  the  whole  thing  may  easily  be  entirely 
spoiled.  The  young  Jibaro  who  has  killed  an  enemy  for  the  first 
time  is  therefore  instructed  in  its  preparation  by  an  older  warrior. 
Nor  can  an  Indian  prepare  the  head  alone.  Hence,  when  a  Jibaro 
warrior  has  killed  an  enemy  alone  and  taken  his  head  he  needs  the 
help  of  another  man,  at  least  for  the  skinning  of  the  head.  This 
assistant  necessarily  ought  to  be  a  warrior  who  likewise  has  earlier 
killed  some  enemy.  Another  Indian  would  not  have  “  a  good  hand  ” 
for  the  work  and  would  not  do. 

The  stronger  the  killed  enemy  had  been  in  life,  the  more  valiantly 
he  had  fought,  the  more  difficult  it  had  been  to  deprive  him  of  life, 
the  greater  is  the  honor  the  victor  earns  by  his  deed,  the  greater 
is  the  power  of  the  trophy  made  of  his  head.  Notwithstanding  this, 
it  sometimes  occurs  among  the  Jibaros  that  tsantsas  are  prepared 
even  of  heads  of  women. 

But  the  Jibaro  Indian  does  not  make  trophies  solely  of  the  heads 
of  his  human  enemies  but  also  of  the  heads  of  certain  animals.  There 
is  one  animal  especially  which  in  this  respect  plays  a  curious  part  in 


KARSTEN] 


BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS 


33 


the  superstitions  of  the  Jibaros,  namely,  the  sloth,  called  uyushi 
by  them.  Feasts  with  trophies  made  of  the  head  of  the  sloth  are 
among  the  Jibaros  equally  common  as  feasts  with  human  tsantsas. 
This  fact  derives  its  explanation  from  the  m}Thology  of  these  In¬ 
dians.  In  primitive  times,  the  Jibaros  tell,  all  animals — quadrupeds, 
birds,  fishes,  reptiles,  and  so  on — were  men,  i.  e.,  Jibaros.  They  had 
human  shape,  human  habits,  human  thoughts  and  passions,  and 
human  language.  They  also  waged  wars  against  each  other,  and 
made  trophies  of  the  heads  of  their  slain  enemies,  just  as  the  Jibaros 
still  do.  Later  on  this  kind  of  folk  were  changed  into  animals,  the 
animals  which  still  exist.  The  Jibaros  still  have  a  very  vivid  con¬ 
sciousness  of  their  supposed  relationship  with  the  animal  world,  a 
feature  which  especially  appears  in  their  religion  and  their  poetry. 
But  they  especially  claim  to  trace  the  ancient  human  qualities  in 
the  sloth.  This  helpless  animal,  according  to  their  idea,  is  a  direct 
survival  from  the  remote  period  mentioned.  It  is  still  a  Jibaro  in 
the  shape  of  an  animal,  but  a  Jibaro  of  a  foreign  tribe  and  conse¬ 
quently  an  enemy.  He  is  a  very  old  man.  as  one  may  judge  from  his 
slow  movements  and  from  the  fact  that  his  hair  is  partly  gray.3  The 
Jibaros  even  profess  to  know  what  his  name  was  in  ancient  times, 
while  a  man.  He  was  then  called  TJnupi ,  his  wife’s  name  was 
Unuchi ,  and  his  brother’s  Uyungra.  When,  therefore,  the  Jibaros 
meet  a  sloth,  they  kill  it  with  a  lance,  just  as  they  kill  their  human 
enemies,  and  make  a  trophy  of  its  head.  This  trophy  is  prepared  in 
the  same  way  as  a  human  tsantsa ,  but  is  only  reduced  a  little,  since 
the  head  of  the  sloth  is  comparatively  small.  In  the  trophy  made 
of  the  sloth  the  fell  of  the  neck  corresponds  to  the  hair  of  a  human 
tsantsa.  The  fell  of  that  part  is  therefore  conserved  and  prepared 
with  care.  The  Indian  who  has  killed  the  animal  has  thereafter  to 
pass  through  exactly  the  same  purificatory  ceremonies  as  one  who 
has  killed  a  human  enemy,  and  even  the  final  great  victory  feast  is 
celebrated  in  due  time  with  exactly  the  same  grand  preparations  and 
wTith  the  same  carefully  performed  ceremonies. 

There  are  also  instances  of  trophies  having  been  made  by  the 
Jibaros  of  the  head  of  the  jaguar.  Many  years  ago  an  Indian  woman 
was  killed  by  a  jaguar  in  the  neighborhood  of  Rio  Zamora.  The 
Jibaros  regard  a  jaguar,  which  in  this  way  attacks  and  kills  people, 
as  the  incarnation  of  the  soul  of  an  evil  sorcerer  which  has  entered 
that  wild  beast  with  a  view  to  harming  or  killing  his  enemies.  The 
Indians  consequently  resolved  to  take  revenge,  arranged  a  hunting 

3  The  superstition  held  of  the  sloth  is  partly  due  to  the  fact  that  the  animal  is  ex¬ 
tremely  tenacious  of  life.  This  the  Jibaros  suppose  to  be  the  case  with  old  people  in 
general.  When  the  Jibaro  warrior  has  succeeded  in  killing  an  enemy  who  was  an  old 
man  and  whom  it  was  very  difficult  to  deprive  of  life,  he  regards  the  victory  as  a  special 
triumph. 


34 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


of  the  animal,  and  succeeded  in  killing  it.  They  thereafter  made  a 
trophy  of  its  head,  and  a  victory  feast  was  celebrated  in  the  ordinary 
way. 

As  to  other  rules  of  precaution  which  the  warriors  have  to  observe 
after  the  victory  the  following  may  be  mentioned :  In  the  evening 
of  the  day  the  enemies  have  been  killed  all  warriors  who  have  taken 
part  in  the  massacre  slightly  prick  themselves  over  the  whole  body, 
the  arms,  legs,  shoulders,  breast,  and  stomach  with  a  pointed  arrow 
of  the  kind  the  Jibaros  use  for  their  blowpipes.  This  is  believed  to 
protect  them  against  the  spirit  of  the  killed  enemy.  In  the  dream  the 
slayer  meets  the  spirit,  who  says  to  him :  “  Come,  let  us  dance  to¬ 
gether.”  The  warrior’s  own  soul  or  spirit  then  answers:  “No;  I 
can  not  dance,  for  I  have  my  body  full  of  sores.”  If  in  the  evening 
he  has  not  pricked  himself  in  the  way  mentioned,  he  will  in  the  dream 
obey  the  exhortation  of  the  inimical  spirit  to  dance  with  him,  and 
the  consequence  of  this  will  be  that  the  warrior  will  soon  die.  The 
Jibaros  therefore  say  that  they  prick  themselves  in  the  way  de¬ 
scribed  “  in  order  not  to  die.” 

In  regard  to  the  diet  of  the  Jibaro  warriors,  there  is  nothing  pre¬ 
scribed  for  the  time  they  are  preparing  for  and  marching  to  the  war. 
They  may  then  eat  whatever  they  like.  But  as  soon  as  a  Jibaro  has 
killed  an  enemy  the  fasting  begins.  All  those  who  took  part  in  the 
killing  of  the  enemy  are,  during  the  return  home,  allowed  to  eat 
only  boiled  and  mashed  manioc,  a  dish  called  nauma.  This  food  has 
to  be  cooked  exclusively  by  the  slayers  themselves.  No  other  man, 
and  still  less  a  woman,  may  prepare  it.  When  the  warriors  eat  they 
never  touch  the  manioc  with  their  fingers,  like  the  Jibaros  generally 
do,  but  they  use  small  wooden  pins  to  eat  with.  Their  hands  having 
been  polluted  with  the  blood  of  their  enemies,  the  food  would  become 
impure  if  they  touched  it,  and  they  would  expose  themselves  to 
death. 

Moreover,  the  warriors  are  not  allowed  to  bathe  or  to  wash  them¬ 
selves  in  any  way  until  they  reach  home.  Dirty  and  soiled  with 
blood,  as  they  departed  from  battle,  they  should  arrive  home.  This, 
of  course,  also  holds  good  for  their  clothing,  their  loin  cloth  ( itipi ) 
and  other  clothes,  as  well  as  their  weapons,  the  bloody  lance  with 
which  the  enemy  was  killed,  and  the  knife  with  which  his  head  was 
cut  off.  It  is  not  until  later,  at  the  general  ceremonial  purification 
at  home,  that  the  warrior  himself  and  his  weapons  can  be  washed. 

Ever  since  the  hour  when  the  warrior  killed  his  enemy,  and  up  to 
the  feast  which  is  called  suamartinyu ,  and  which  is  celebrated  some 
months  later,  he  is  not  either  allowed  to  have  sexual  intercourse  with 
a  woman  or  even  to  sleep  in  the  same  room  with  a  woman. 


karsten ]  BLOOD  revenge,  war,  and  victory  feasts  35 

NUMBUIMARTINYU,  “  THE  WASHING  OF  THE  BLOOD  ” 

Immediately  after  their  return  the  victor  or  victors  have  to  pass 
through  the  purification  procedure,  connected  with  a  small  feast, 
which  the  Jibaros  call  numbuimartinyu  (from  numba ,  blood,  and 
mdrtinyu ,  to  paint,  to  coat),  the  principal  ceremony  of  which  con¬ 
sists  in  their  legs  being  coated  with  chicken’s  blood.  If  the  victors 
are  many,  this  ceremony  is  at  first  performed  with  the  one  who  cut 
the  head  of  the  enemy,  and  thereafter  by  turns  with  each  of  those 
who  took  part  in  the  killing.  Before  the  victors,  who  travel  slowly 
and  stop  in  various  houses  on  the  way,  arrive  home,  a  message  has 
been  sent  that  the  warriors  are  coming,  that  a  head  has  been  captured 
and  that  the  preparations  for  the  feast  numbuimartinyu  should  begin 
at  once.  This  feast  therefore  always  has  a  more  or  less  improvised 
character. 

The  first  slayer  stops  in  the  house  of  some  relations  in  the  neigh¬ 
borhood  of  his  home  until  the  trophy  is  definitely  prepared.  It  is 
not  until  then  that  his  solemn  entrance  into  his  own  house  can  take 
place.  He  is  in  the  dress  of  a  penitent,  has  his  hair  untied,  and 
wears  no  body-painting  or  other  ornaments.  At  his  side  stands  the 
chief  or  some  other  old  warrior,  who  will  lead  the  ceremonies  at  the 
folloAving  feasts  and  in  this  capacity  is  called  whuea.  Behind  these 
two  men  the  rest  of  the  warriors  arrange  themselves  in  a  row.  The 
whuea  at  first  gives  the  slayer  juice  of  tobacco  through  the  nose. 
Thereafter  the  latter  disengages  the  trophy  from  the  cloth  in  which 
it  has  been  enveloped  and  with  the  aid  of  the  old  man  hangs  it 
round  his  neck,  over  the  breast.  Followed  by  the  rest  of  the  men, 
he  now  slowly  and  ceremoniously,  and  continually  smoothing  the 
hair  of  the  trophy  with  the  hand,  proceeds  toward  the  house,  stop¬ 
ping  outside  the  door.  From  within  all  the  women  come  to  meet 
him,  arranged  in  a  row  and  holding  each  other  by  the  hands,  all 
in  festive  dresses  and  with  rattles  of  snail’s  shells  around  the  cinc¬ 
tures.  On  each  side  of  the  women  the  men  arrange  themselves  in 
two  rows  inside  the  house.  The  introductory  dance  with  the  trophy 
which  is  called  ihiambrama ,  and  which  is  performed  by  the  victor 
together  with  the  women,  now  takes  place.  From  among  the  women 
two  step  forth  who  have  been  standing  at  the  head  of  the  rest. 
Those  are  the  wife  and  daughter  of  the  victor.  For  the  following 
dance  the  daughter  grasps  him  from  behind  at  the  cincture  with 
both  hands;  the  wife  gives  him  her  hand,  standing  at  the  head  of 
the  other  women.  The  slayer  again  seizes  the  tsantsa  with  the  right 
hand,  holding  it  up  with  the  arm  stretched  out;  with  the  left  he 
grasps  the  hand  of  his  wife.  All  now  pass,  dancing  or  hopping 
with  the  side  foremost,  into  the  interior  of  the  house,  to  the  accom- 


36 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


paniment  of  drums  and  the  rattles  of  the  women,  and  immediately 
return  to  the  entrance.  The  same  maneuver  is  repeated  twice  more. 
Each  time  the  slayer,  led  by  the  women,  returns  to  the  entrance  of 
the  house.  The  aim  of  this  dance  is  to  paralyze  the  danger  threat¬ 
ening  the  victor  from  the  spirit  of  the  murdered  enemy  at  the  first 
entrance  into  the  house,  which  is  regarded  as  particularly  critical. 

The  slayer  now  takes  off  the  tsantsa  and  the  latter  is  tied  to  a 
chonta  lance  which  is  fixed  in  the  ground  close  to  the  door  at  the 
inner  side.  The  lance  must  be  made  of  the  hard  wood  of  the  chonta 
palm,  to  which  the  Indians  ascribe  a  supernatural  power.  Another 
kind  of  lance,  for  instance  one  having  an  iron  point,  would  not  do. 
In  this  way  the  tsantsa  is  kept  even  at  the  following  feasts  during 
the  time  it  is  not  needed  for  the  ceremonies.  The  trophy  being  tied 
to  the  chonta  lance,  the  spirit  of  the  enemy  attached  to  it  is  mortified 
and  kept  at  bay. 

The  whuea  lays  his  hand  upon  the  shoulder  of  the  slayer  and  takes 
him  round  in  the  house  as  if  to  manifest  that  he  can  now  move 
about  there  without  danger. 

Meanwhile,  close  to  the  lance  with  the  tsantsa  tied  to  it,  two  small 
vessels  have  been  placed.  One  is  a  piece  of  an  old  broken  clay  pot 
( hakdchi )  containing  a  little  chicken’s  blood,  the  other  an  ordinary 
small  pot  with  a  solution  of  genipa  ( sua ).  These  three  objects,  the 
lance  with  the  trophy  tied  to  it,  the  piece  of  the  clay  pot  containing 
chicken’s  blood,  and  the  small  pot  with  genipa,  seem  to  be  sacred ; 
no  unauthorized  person  may  touch  them  or  even  come  near  them. 

If  among  the  warriors  who  took  part  in  the  killing  of  the  enemy 
two  or  more  are  frpm  the  same  house,  being  for  instance  twTo  brothers 
or  a  father  with  his  sons,  a  special  broken  clay  vessel  with  chicken’s 
blood  and  a  special  small  pot  with  genipa  must  be  placed  at  the  lance 
for  each  of  them.  The  ceremony  numbuimartinyu ,  thus,  must  be 
performed  separately  with  each  slayer  from  the  same  house. 

The  “  washing  of  the  blood  ”  now  takes  place.  The  slayer  takes 
his  seat  upon  a  small  round  bank  close  to  the  vessel  with  the  chicken’s 
blood  and  the  whuea  places  himself  at  his  side.  Around  them  the 
women  form  a  semicircle,  having  their  rattles  around  the  cincture 
as  before.  They  are  led  by  an  old  woman,  called  ohdha ,  who  at  the 
feasts  directs  all  those  ceremonies  at  which  the  women  play  the  main 
part.  The  whuea  at  first  gives  the  slayer  juice  of  tobacco  through 
the  nose.  Then  he  grasps  him  by  the  hand,  brings  it  down  to  the 
vessel  containing  the  chicken’s  blood,  lets  him  dip  the  index  finger 
into  it,  and  subsequently  with  the  blood  draw  a  broad  line  2  or  3 
inches  in  length  along  the  front  side  of  one  of  his  legs,  from  beneath 
upward.  Thereafter  the  slayer,  with  the  aid  of  the  whuea ,  applies 
a  similar  stroke  with  the  blood  to  his  other  leg.  While  this  is  being 
done  the  women,  led  by  the  ohdha ,  dance  in  a  ring  around  them, 


karsten]  BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEAST'S  37 

singing  a  sort  of  conjuration,  which  mainly  consists  of  the  following 
phrase : 

Whuea  heingi  ikaski  numbimarmai  ihambratinyu  /  that  is,  “  The 
whuea ,  together  with  the  ohdha  {ikaski),  paint  you  with  blood  to 
start  the  fasting.” 

As  we  shall  see,  the  ceremony  numbuimartinyu  introduces  a  time 
of  very  strict  fasting  for  the  slayer. 

The  slayer  now  in  his  turn  does  the  whuea  the  same  service,  draw¬ 
ing  with  his  index  finger  two  streaks  with  the  chicken’s  blood  upon 
both  his  legs. 

The  blood-painting  ceremony  having  been  finished,  the  piece  of 
broken  clay  vessel,  together  with  the  blood  left  in  it,  is  immediately 
thrown  away  into  the  forest.  It  is  an  impure  and  harmful  substance 
which  need  no  longer  be  kept. 

The  whuea  asks  the  wife  of  the  slayer  for  water,  and  she  brings  it 
in  a  clay  dish  (pininga).  The  old  man  takes  a  little  water  from  the 
dish  with  his  hand  and  puts  it  upon  the  head  of  the  slayer.  There¬ 
after  he  does  the  same  with  the  wife  and  daughter  of  the  slayer,  put¬ 
ting  with  his  hand  a  little  water  upon  their  heads.  All  three  are 
subsequently  sent  down  to  the  river  to  bathe. 

That  even  the  wife  and  the  daughter  of  the  slayer  have  to  pass 
through  this  purification  procedure  and  afterwards  also  have  to  take 
part  in  various  other  ceremonies  is  partly  due  to  the  close  relation¬ 
ship  existing  between  them  and  the  slayer,  but  especially  to  the  role 
they  have  played  at  the  dance  ihidmbrama.  By  touching  the  still 
bloodstained  hands  and  clothes  of  the  slayer  they  have  likewise  been 
polluted  with  the  blood  of  the  murdered  enemy,  are  consequently 
exposed  to  danger  from  the  revengeful  spirit,  and  have  to  be  purified 
from  the  blood  and  observe  other  rules  of  precaution.  From  this 
moment  up  to  the  time  for  the  celebration  of  the  final  great  victory 
feast  they  have  thus  to  fast  in  the  same  way  as  the  slayer  himself, 
assisting  at  the  said  feast  again  at  the  dance  ihidmbrama ,  which  then 
will  be  repeated. 

If  the  slayer  has  two  wives  they  generally  assist  at  the  dance  men¬ 
tioned.  If  he  is  quite  a  young  man,  who  has  not  yet  married,  it  is 
considered  obligatory  that  he  should  look  for  a  bride  for  the  feast. 
The  part  of  the  other  woman  in  this  case  is  played  by  some  near 
female  relative  of  his. 

In  the  river  the  slayer  carefully  washes  his  whole  body,  as  well  as 
his  clothing,  soiled  with  blood  in  the  battle,  and  lastly  his  weapons, 
the  still  bloody  lance  and  knife.  Together  with  his  wife  and  daugh¬ 
ter,  who  have  also  washed  themselves,  he  then  returns  to  the  house. 

On  the  way  they  break  some  twigs  of  guayusa  ( Ilex  sp.),  called 
weisa  by  the  Jibaros,  a  tree  the  leaves  of  which  are  used  for  the 
preparation  of  an  aromatic  and  tonic  drink,  with  which  the  Jibaros 


38 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


wash  their  mouths  every  morning.  This  drink  has  now  to  be  pre¬ 
pared.  The  slayer  as  well  as  his  wife  and  daughter  together  grasp 
a  small  clay  pot,  called  yukunda ,  pour  water  into  it  from  a  larger 
vessel,  and  together  place  it  on  the  fire.  As  soon  as  the  drink  has 
boiled  the  wliuea  takes  a  little  of  it  in  a  small  gourd,  mutters  an 
incantation  over  it,  and  passes  it  to  the  slayer  who  washes  his  mouth 
with  it  without  swallowing  much  of  it.  Thereafter  the  wliuea  in 
the  same  way  gives  of  the  drink  to  the  wife  and  the  daughter  of  the 
slayer,  who  likewise  wash  their  mouths  with  it.  The  small  clay  pot 
is  then  taken  off  the  fire  and  laid  aside.  The  three  persons  are  now 
properly  purified  for  breaking  the  fast. 

The  wife  of  the  slayer  goes  to  fetch  the  edible  top  of  a  small  palm 
which  the  Jibaros  call  tingimi ,  which  is  put  on  the  fire  to  be  roasted, 
exactly  on  the  same  place  where  the  guayusa  pot  had  lain.  At  an¬ 
other  fire  in  the  house  beans  have  before  been  cooked,  and  at  a  third 
manioc,  afterwards  mashed,  a  dish  called  nauma.  As  soon  as  the 
palm  top  is  sufficiently  roasted  the  women  move  over  to  this  fire,  take 
a  dish  with  beans,  and  another  dish  with  boiled  manioc  {nauma). 
The  three  principal  persons,  the  slayer  himself  and  his  wife  and 
daughter,  now  have  to  break  the  fast  after  the  “  washing  of  the 
blood.”  The  wliuea  at  first  gives  juice  of  tobacco  to  the  slayer  through 
the  nose.  Then  with  two  fingers  he  takes  a  little  of  the  palm  top 
( tingimi ),  spits  on  the  ground,  mutters  an  incantation  over  it  and 
puts  it  directly  into  the  mouth  of  the  slayer,  who  swallows  it.  Then 
with  two  fingers  he  takes  a  few  beans,  and  lastly  also  a  small  piece 
of  boiled  manioc  together  with  a  little  salt  and  a  little  pimiento  or 
Indian  pepper,  and  gives  them  to  the  slayer  with  the  same  ceremony. 
Exactly  the  same  action  is  repeated  with  his  wife  and  his  daughter, 
each  of  whom  likewise  receives  a  little  of  the  dishes  mentioned.  The 
vessels  with  the  food  are  subsequently  carried  away  by  the  other 
women. 

Meanwhile  food  has  also  been  cooked  for  the  guests  in  the  women’s 
department  of  the  house.  This  food  essentially  consists  of  boiled 
chicken.  If  there  are  swine  in  the  house,  one  is  also  slaughtered 
and  prepared,  but  according  to  old  tradition  boiled  chicken  is  the 
main  dish  at  the  feast  numbuimartinyu. 

A  general  banquet  now  commences,  at  which  the  guests  eat  chicken 
and  manioc,  whereas  the  slayer,  his  wife,  and  daughter  eat  the  palm 
top  tingimi ,  beans,  and  manioc. 

After  the  banquet  the  last  ceremony  takes  place,  which  consists  in 
the  slayer  being  painted  with  genipa  ( sua ).  The  slayer  seats  himself 
on  a  bank  in  front  of  the  pot  containing  the  black  dye,  and  the  whuea 
places  himself  at  his  side,  grasps  his  hand,  makes  him  dip  his  index 
finger  in  the  solution  and  apply  a  broad  stroke  with  it  over  the  mouth 
so  that  both  lips  are  painted  black.  Thereafter  the  old  man  draws  a 


karsten] 


BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS 


39 


similar  black  stroke  over  his  own  mouth.  The  women  simultaneously 
dance  around  the  two  men,  singing  an  incantation.  The  pot  contain¬ 
ing  the  genipa  is  now  carried  away  and  kept. 

The  whuea  at  last  addresses  the  slayer  with  a  sort  of  speech  wherein 
he  points  out  that  he  himself  has  now  fulfilled  his  mission  to  wash 
off  the  blood  from  the  slayer,  but  that  the  latter  has  now  to  prepare 
himself  for  the  celebration  of  the  final  great  victory  feast.  He  has 
to  breed  swine  and  chickens  to  be  slaughtered  at  the  feast;  he  must 
plant  fields  of  manioc  and  plantain ;  he  must  in  his  life  carefully  ob¬ 
serve  certain  rules  of  abstinence  from  eating  certain  kinds  of  food,  etc. 

When  darkness  sets  in,  or  about  6  o’clock  in  the  evening,  a  general 
dance  commences,  which  takes  place  at  all  great  feasts  and  is  called 
hantsemata.  This  dance  will  be  described  later  in  connection  with 
the  tsantsa  feast  proper.  The  slayer  himself  takes  part  in  the  dance 
with  the  trophy  hanging  on  his  back.  It  has  to  be  continued  during 
the  whole  night  until  dawn.  That  night  no  one  in  the  house  is 
allowed  to  sleep,  and  especially  not  the  slayer  himself. 

The  aim  of  the  feast  numbuimartinyu ,  as  already  mentioned,  is 
to  purify  the  slayer  from  the  blood  which  is  attached  to  him  after  the 
killing  of  the  enemy,  and  to  protect  him  against  the  spirit  of  the 
latter,  who  is  thirsting  for  revenge.  In  the  blood  the  soul  of  the 
enemy  is  particularly  supposed  to  be  present.  How  this  purification 
can  be  brought  about  with  the  two  strokes  of  blood  applied  to  the 
legs  of  the  slayer  is  something  the  Jibaros  can  not  explain  more 
closely.  Nor  can  they  explain  why  chicken’s  blood  must  necessarily 
be  used  for  this  procedure,  or  why  that  blood  must  be  kept  in  an 
old,  broken  clay  pot.  “  Our  ancestors  have  since  times  immemorial 
proceeded  in  this  way,”  an  old  Jibaro,  whom  I  asked  about  the  cus¬ 
tom,  answered  me,  “  and  we  have  to  keep  up  and  follow  their  cus¬ 
toms.”  That  a  magical  power  and  supernaturally  purifying  effects 
are  ascribed  to  the  chicken's  blood  is,  however,  clear.  The  same 
purifying  effects,  in  a  magical  or  religious  sense  of  the  word,  are 
ascribed  to  the  bath  in  the  river  and  to  the  washing  of  the  mouth 
with  guayusa ,  the  object  of  the  latter  ceremony  especially  being  to 
favorably  prepare  for  the  breaking  of  the  fast.  Again,  the  painting 
with  the  genipa  is  a  direct  protection  against  the  spirit  of  the  enemy. 
Body  painting  among  the  Indians  nearly  always  serves  magical 
ends,  being  regarded  as  a  protection  against  disease  and  witchcraft, 
and  this  is  especially  the  case  with  the  black  painting.  According 
to  the  ideas  of  the  Jibaros  and  the  Canelos  Indians  there  is  a  demon 
( wakani ,  supai)  in  the  black  genipa  paint,  and  when  the  Indian 
paints  his  body  or  face  black  this  is  usually  a  sign  that  he  either  is 
going  to  kill  an  enemy  or  already  has  killed  one.  As  we  shall  see, 
painting  with  genipa  also  takes  place  at  the  feast  suamartinyu  and 
at  the  final  great  victory  feast. 


40 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[BULI*.  79 


In  regard  to  the  question  why  the  chicken’s  blood  used  at  the  puri¬ 
fication  ought  to  be  kept  in  an  old  broken  clay  vessel  ( hakachi )  it 
may  be  mentioned  that  the  Jibaros  make  use  of  broken  clay  pots 
at  certain  cathartic  rites,  when  they  try  to  get  rid  of  some¬ 
thing  that  is  impure,  detestable,  and  dangerous.  Since  the  chicken’s 
blood  which  has  purified  the  slayer  afterwards  is  an  impure  and 
harmful  matter  and  accordingly  is  thrown  away  at  once,  it  is  con¬ 
sonant  with  ritualistic  principles  that  it  should  be  kept  in  a  useless 
vessel,  worthy  of  being  thrown  away,  like  the  piece  of  a  broken 
clay  pot.  It  seems  to  be  due  to  similar  considerations  when  the 
Jibaros  use  a  Karachi  for  heating  the  sand  with  which  the  trophy  is 
reduced  at  the  preparation. 

Again,  if  one  asks  what  ideas  underlie  the  choice  of  the  slayer’s 
food — palm  top,  beans,  mashed  manioc,  etc. — the  Indians  only  give 
the  explanation  that  he  ought  to  eat  such  light  kinds  of  food  that 
remain  in  his  stomach  and  which  he  does  not  run  the  risk  of  throw¬ 
ing  up,  which  evidently  would  be  regarded  as  dangerous  for  him. 
Their  idea  is,  no  doubt,  that  a  very  indigestible  or  irritating  food 
could  become  a  means  through  which  the  invisible,  supernatural 
enemy  of  the  slayer — the  spirit  of  the  killed  enemy — could  get  an 
opportunity  to  harm  him,  perhaps  cause  his  death.  That  the  guests 
mainly  eat  chicken  at  the  feast  is  probably  only  due  to  the  fact  that 
numbuimartinyu  is  an  improvised  feast,  and  that,  therefore,  such 
kinds  of  food  is  given  them  as  is  most  easy  to  procure. 

The  prescriptions  with  regard  to  the  diet  and  mode  of  life  which  the 
slayer  has  to  observe  during  the  time  immediately  following  the 
“  washing  of  the  blood,”  or  up  to  the  feast  called  suamartinyu ,  which 
is  celebrated  some  months  later,  are  very  severe  and  strict.  He  is 
not  even  allowed  to  dress  completely,  but  only  wears  his  loin  cloth 
( itipi ),  tied  up  with  a  cincture,  having  the  upper  part  of  the  body 
bare.  The  hair  is  generally  kept  loose  and  is  not  arranged  in  the 
three  pigtails  normally  worn  by  the  Jibaros.  Only  at  the  neck  the 
hair  is  occasionally  tied  up.  He  must  not  wear  ear  tubes,  facial 
painting,  necklaces,  or  other  ornaments  of  any  kind.  He  can  not 
carry  a  lance  or  other  weapon,  nor  handle  poison  4  or  other  dangerous 
matter,  nor  go  out  hunting  or  fishing  or  on  new  war  expeditions,  nor 
take  part  in  feasts.  When  the  slayer  goes  out  wandering  he,  instead 
of  the  lance  without  which  normally  no  Jibaro  leaves  his  house,  only 
carries  a  short  staff.  He  is  also  prohibited  from  having  sexual  inter¬ 
course  with  his  wife  or  even  from  sleeping  in  the  women’s  depart¬ 
ment  of  the  house  (ehinturu) ,  but  passes  his  nights  in  the  fore  room 
or  men’s  department  (tangamasha) .  His  diet  is  the  lightest  pos- 

4  This  prohibition  especially  touches  the  arrow  poison  (seasa),  and  the  varvasco  poison 
( tima ),  used  in  fishing. 


karsten]  BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS  41 

sible  and  consists  only  of  the  palm  top  ( tingimi ),  which  is  eaten 
roasted,  of  boiled  and  mashed  manioc  (nauma) ,  and  of  the  smallest 
kinds  of  fish  caught  in  the  rivers  (sardines,  chumakai ,  and  another 
kind  of  small  fish,  shachma).  These  may  be  boiled  or  roasted,  but 
must  be  eaten  without  addition  of  other  kinds  of  food. 

The  wife  and  daughter  of  the  slayer  must  also  fast.  Their  food 
during  the  period  in  question  consists  principally  of  beans  and  of 
the  leaves  of  a  forest  plant  which  the  Jibaros  call  epo. 

If  the  slayer  infringes  these  rules  the  consequences  for  him  will 
be  fatal.  He  will  soon  die;  he  will  not  be  able  to  kill  any  more 
enemies  or  to  celebrate  other  tsantsa  feasts.  Even  his  nearest  rela¬ 
tives  will  die  through  sickness  or  accidents,  one  after  another.5  His 
domestic  animals,  instead  of  increasing  and  flourishing,  will  pine 
away  and  die.  The  manioc,  plantain,  and  other  domestic  plants 
will  dry  away  and  produce  no  fruits.  In  all  his  undertakings  he 
will  be  unlucky.  In  one  word,  the  effects  of  the  trophy  will  be 
directly  contrary  to  those  generally  expected  from  its  supernatural 
power.  All  this  is  caused  by  the  spirit  of  the  murdered  enemy 
( wakdni ).  The  revengeful  ghost,  who  takes  no  rest,  follows  his 
slayer  everywhere,  always  looking  for  an  opportunity  to  kill  or  harm 
him,  and  the  latter  believes  that  he  meets  him  especially  in  dreams. 
Generally  the  wakdni  meets  him  in  the  shape  of  an  Indian  armed  with 
a  lance,  with  which  he  is  continually  trying  to  kill  him.  But  the  spirit 
also  appears  to  him  in  other  shapes,  especially  in  the  shape  of  a  black 
monkey,  a  deer,6  a  bear,  or  some  other  hairy  animal  of  the  forest. 
This  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  the  slayer  does  not,  during  the  critical 
time,  go  out  wandering  in  the  forest.  The  wakdni  can  here  in  many 
ways  threaten  his  life.  If,  for  instance,  he  Avanders  to  the  verge  of 
a  precipice  at  the  bank  of  a  river  the  revengeful  demon  may  take  an 
opportunity  to  push  him  over  the  precipice.  He  also  may  cause  a 
tree  or  a  branch  to  fall  upon  him  in  the  forest  and  crush  him.  If 
he  AA^ears  a  lance  or  a  knife  the  spirit  may  cause  his  death  with 
these  weapons.  If  he  tries  to  shoot  a  bird  or  an  animal  with  blow¬ 
pipe  and  poisoned  arrows  the  enemy  may  cause  the  arrow  to  hit  the 
slayer  himself.  For  the  same  reason  he  has  to  be  extremely  careful 
in  other  respects.  If,  for  instance,  he  has  intercourse  with  his  Avife 
or  some  other  Avoman,  it  may  happen  that  the  wakdni ,  Avho  is  con- 

5  Every  death  that  takes  place  within  the  family  of  the  slayer  during  the  time  follow¬ 
ing  the  killing  of  the  enemy  is  set  down  to  the  secret  operation  of  the  revengeful  spirit 
(wakdni).  At  a  feast  where  I  was  present  the  slayer  told  me  that  within  his  family  seven 
persons  had  died  of  mysterious  diseases  or  through  accidents  during  the  two  years  which 
had  elapsed  since  he  killed  his  enemy.  This  wakdni,  therefore,  was  considered  to  have 
been  a  particularly  bad  one. 

6  The  deer,  according  to  the  idea  of  the  Jibaros,  is  the  incarnation  of  a  demon 
(iguanchi) ,  one  of  the  most  dangerous  animal  demons  they  know.  The  Jibaros,  therefore, 
never  eat  the  flesh  of  the  deer  or  even  touch  it  with  their  hands. 


2119°— 23 - 4 


42 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


stantly  lurking  near  him,  slays  him,  so  that  he  dies  on  the  spot.  Be¬ 
sides,  since  there  is  supposed  to  exist  an  intimate  connection  between 
woman  and  the  plants  which  she  cultivates,  the  consequence  of  his 
having  intercourse  with  his  wife  will  be  that  the  manioc  and  other 
fruits,  recently  planted  for  the  feast,  will  not  reach  ripeness,  but 
will  dry  away.  If  the  slayer  eats  some  unsuitable  and  forbidden 
food  the  spirit  may  again  through  this  food  operate  against  him, 
causing  indigestion  and  death.  On  the  whole,  the  slayer  must  ob¬ 
serve  the  principle  to  live  as  retired  and  hidden  a  life  as  possible,  for 
in  this  way  he  may  more  easily  escape  his  supernatural  enemy.  This 
is  also  the  reason  why  he  must  not  take  part  in  religious  feasts,  or 
wear  body  painting,  eartubes,  necklaces,  and  other  magical  orna¬ 
ments  used  by  those  who  enter  into  relation  with  the  spirits,  and 
through  which  these,  as  it  were,  are  challenged. 

Under  such  circumstances  it  is  easy  to  understand  that  the  Jibaro 
warrior  conscientiously  submits  himself  to  the  severe  rules  imposed 
upon  him  by  society,  and  that  the  feast  itself  is  prepared  and  cele¬ 
brated  with  all  the  care  which  custom  and  tradition  require. 

It  may  be  observed  that  the  practices  and  rites  of  the  feast  numbui - 
martinyu  and  the  rules  observed  afterwards  may  vary  in  certain 
details  among  different  tribes.  Thus  among  the  Jibaros  of  the 
Pasta za  and  the  Canelos  Indians  the  diet  of  the  slayer  after  the 
“  washing  of  the  blood  ”  consists  mainly  of  the  fruit  and  the  leaves  of 
the  plant  mandi  (called  sangu  by  the  Jibaros).  During  a  whole  year 
the  slayer  has  to  abstain  from  cohabiting  with  his  wife.  The  lance 
amom>-  these  Indians  is  not  washed  at  the  ceremonial  bath  in  the 
river,  but  the  point  of  it  is  roasted  in  the  fire  so  that  the  blood  is 
dried  or  burned: 

The  lance  or  the  rifle  with  which  an  enemy  has  been  killed  is 
always  looked  upon  with  superstitious  fear  by  the  Indians,  and  is 
never  more  used  in  hunting.  If,  for  instance,  a  wild  hog  is  killed 
with  such  a  lance  or  rifle,  the  flesh  of  the  animal  is  supposed  to  get 
the  same  taste  as  human  flesh,  and  would  not  therefore  be  eaten  by 
anybody.  The  Jibaro  warrior  therefore  is  anxious  to  exchange  as 
soon  as  possible  the  lance  with  which  he  has  killed  an  enemy.  The 
rifle  he  generally  keeps,  but  no  longer  uses  it  in  hunting  but  only 
in  wars. 

Immediately  after  the  feast  numbuimartinyu  the  slayer  repairs 
to  a  natural  waterfall  in  the  forest  ( paccha  or  sasa) ,  situated  at  a 
distance  from  his  home,  and  takes  some  baths  to  further  purify  him¬ 
self.  He  remains  here  alone  for  three  days,  fasting  and  taking 
tobacco  water,  sleeping  at  night  in  a  small  ranch  and  paying  par¬ 
ticular  attention  to  his  dreams.  After  the  lapse  of  the  three  days 
he  returns  to  his  home,  but  passes  the  first  two  nights  not  in  his 


karsten]  BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS  43 

house  but  in  a  small  ranch  made  at  the  bank  of  the  river.  There¬ 
after  he  can  sleep  in  his  house,  not  with  his  wife,  however,  but  in 
the  fore  room  or  men’s  department  of  the  house. 

SUAMARTINYU,  “THE  FEAST  OF  PAINTING  WITH 

GENIPA  (SUA).” 

The  feast  suamartinyu ,  which  is  held  three  or  four  months  after 
the  numbuimartinyu ,  takes  its  name  from  the  main  ceremony  per¬ 
formed,  the  painting  of  the  slayer  with  genipa  (sua) .  Even  at  the 
numbuimartinyu ,  as  we  have  seen,  painting  with  sua  took  place,  but 
that  procedure  is  now  undertaken  more  thoroughly  and  assumes  a 
greater  importance  than  at  the  feast  first  mentioned. 

A  detailed  description  of  the  feast  suamartinyu  is  not  necessary, 
since  the  ceremonies  which  take  place  are  exactly  the  same  as  those 
performed  at  the  final  great  tsantsa  feast.  The  suamartinyu ,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  is  only  an  anticipation  of  the  latter.  The  only  dif¬ 
ference  is  that  the  preparations  for  the  feast  suamartinyu  are  less 
grand,  fewer  swine  and  chickens  are  slaughtered,  and  fewer  guests 
are  invited.  The  principal  ceremony  at  this  feast  is  the  washing  of 
the  trophy  in  a  magical  solution,  through  which  the  spirit  of  the 
slain  enemy  is  supposed  to  become  the  slave  and  will-less  instrument 
of  the  victor.  Then  follows  the  ceremonial  slaughtering  of  the 
swine,  and  the  final  ceremony  when  the  whuea  or  priest  helps  the 
slayer  to  dress  himself,  cuts  his  hair,  makes  him  break  the  fast,  and 
lastly  paints  his  face,  breast,  stomach,  arms,  and  legs  with  sua.  The 
feast  suamartinyu  lasts  three  or  four  days. 

At  the  painting  of  the  slayer’s  body  with  genipa  the  Jibaros  for¬ 
merly  used  a  special  instrument  consisting  of  a  cylindrical  object, 
made  of  a  special  kind  of  very  hard  clay,  into  which  certain  circle- 
formed  ornaments  were  incised.  The  instrument  was  dipped  into 
the  genipa  solution  and  rolled  along  the  cheeks,  arms,  legs,  etc.,  of 
the  slayer,  the  ornaments  incised  in  the  instrument  being  thereby 
stamped  upon  his  body.  This  instrument,  which  is  called  paydnga , 
is  still  known,  but  it  is  no  longer  made  of  clay,  but  of  a  kind  of  wood. 

The  object  of  the  feast  suamartinyu  is  partly  to  give  the  slayer 
renewed  protection  against  the  spirit  of  the  killed  enemy,  partly  to 
favorably  prepare  the  trophy  for  what  is  its  proper  aim,  namely,  to 
promote  the  material  wealth  of  the  slayer,  especially  for  the 
period  immediately  following  the  feast  numbuimartinyu.  In  the 
first  respect  the  feast  is  of  significance  for  him  in  so  far  that 
he  need  no  longer  observe  the  same  anxious  caution  and  strict  absti¬ 
nence  in  his  mode  of  life  that  was  his  obligation  formerly.  Thus  he 
may  again  dress  completely,  tie  his  hair  in  pigtails,  wear  face  paint- 


44 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


ing  and  ornaments,  manage  lances  and  other  weapons,  go  hunting 
and  fishing,  take  part  in  feasts,  sleep  with  his  wife,  etc.  In  one 
word,  he  can  in  the  main  return  to  his  former  normal  life  with  the 
exception  that  he  is  obliged  to  continue  keeping  diet.  Even  in  this 
respect  he  has.  however,  far  more  liberty  than  before.  With  regard 
to  food  he  has  to  observe  the  following  rules :  The  slayer  must  abso¬ 
lutely  abstain  from  eating  pork  and  chicken.  He  is  allowed  to  eat  all 
fruits  cultivated  by  the  Jibaros,  the  manioc,  however,  only  boiled, 
but  not  roasted.  He  must  not  eat  the  flesh  of  the  tapir  ( pamd ) ,  of  the 
great  wild  hog  ( unta  pakki ),  of  the  paca  ( C oelogenys  paca ,  called 
kashai  by  the  Jibaros),  or  of  any  kind  of  monkey.  Of  birds  he  must 
not  eat  the  toucan,  the  wild  turkey,  the  paugi,  or  other  larger  birds 
commonly  hunted  by  the  Jibaros,  but  only  such  small  forest  birds 
as  are  shot  by  blowpipe  and  nonpoisoned  arrows.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  is  recommended  to  eat  the  small  peccary  ( yankipi )  and  the 
rodent  guatusa  or  agouti  ( Dasyprocta  aguti).  Of  fish  he  is  recom¬ 
mended  to  eat  the  large  ndpi  (Spanish,  bagre) ,  and  the  wambi  (Span¬ 
ish,  bocachupa) ,  but  is  forbidden  to,  eat  the  kanga  (Spanish,  boca- 
chico) ,  the  commonest  fish  in  the  South  American  rivers.  He  may 
also  eat  small  fish  or  sardines  (chumakai) .  If  he  infringes  these 
rules  he  runs  the  risk  of  falling  ill  and  dying,  and  the  object  of  the 
whole  feast  will  fail. 

The  dietetic  prescriptions  just  mentioned  depend  on  the  following 
ideas:  The  slayer  must,  as  a  general  rule,  avoid  eating  the  flesh  of  any 
animal  through  which  the  spirit  of  the  slain  enemy  may  get  an  op¬ 
portunity  to  harm  him.  The  most  important  mission  of  the  tsantsa 
after  the  feast  suamartinyu  is  to  promote  the  increase  of  the  princi¬ 
pal  domestic  animals,  the  swine  and  the  chicken  ( kuchi ,  atashi 
p  a mb  dr  tiny  u) ,  and  more  particularly  for  the  final  great  feast. 
From  the  very  reason  that  the  power  of  the  tsantsa  is  in  a  mysteri¬ 
ous  way  effective  in  the  domestic  animals  mentioned,  it  is  consid¬ 
ered  dangerous  for  the  slayer  to  eat  swine’s  flesh  and  chicken  during 
this  critical  period,  for  that  power  may  then  prove  destructive  to 
him.  The  prohibition  especially  refers  to  swine’s  flesh.  If  the 
slayer  eats  of  it,  he  may  fall  ill  and  die,  and  that  is  then  the  work 
of  the  wakdni.  This  superstition  is  seemingly  supported  by  the 
fact  that  the  flesh,  and  especially  the  fat,  of  the  swine  in  the  tropi¬ 
cal  regions  easily  causes  affections  of  the  liver  and  other  disturbances 
of  the  digestive  processes.  With  the  Indians  such  diseases  often  end 
fatally.  The  danger  of  an  uncautious  diet  in  this  respect  must  of 
course  be  greater  for  a  man  who  during  many  months  has  observed 
that  strict  abstinence  with  regard  to  food  which  has  been  described 
above. 

The  tapir  is  an  animal  which  the  Jibaros  in  general  look  upon 
with  superstition  and  the  flesh  of  which  they  therefore  rarely  eat. 


karsten]  blood  revenge,  war,  and  victory  feasts  45 

Formerly  they  have  had  almost  the  same  aversion  against  this  animal 
as  they  still  have  against  the  deer,  of  which  they  believe  that  it  is  an 
incarnation  of  a  demon  ( igudnchi ),  a  belief  still  held  even  of  the 
tapir  by  the  Jibaros  of  the  Pastaza.  The  flesh  of  the  wild  hog  is 
taboo  to  the  slayer  on  account  of  the  great  similarity  of  that  animal 
to  the  domestic  swine,  the  flesh  of  which  is  strictly  forbidden  to 
him.  The  paca  (kashcti) ,  although  normally  eaten  by  the  Jibaros,  is 
looked  upon  as  a  demoniacal  animal,  its  flesh  being  therefore  for¬ 
bidden  to  persons  who  from  one  reason  or  another  are  obliged  to 
diet. 

That  monkeys’  flesh  is  forbidden  to  the  slayer  is  due  to  the  great 
likeness  of  these  animals  to  man.  The  spirit  of  the  dead  enemy 
may  hide  in  such  an  animal  and  cause  the  death  of  the  slayer  in 
case  he  tries  to  shoot  it  in  the  forest  or  eat  of  its  flesh. 

Similarly  the  soul  of  the  enemy  may  temporarily  take  its  abode 
in  a  toucan,  a  paugi,  or  some  other  large  bird  of  the  forest,  and  in 
this  shape  threaten  the  life  of  the  slayer.  Their  flesh  is  therefore 
equally  taboo  to  him. 

The  prescription  that  the  slayer  can  eat  the  manioc  only  boiled 
but  not  roasted  is  due  to  the  fact  that  at  the  great  feast  the  Jibaros 
prepare  from  roasted  manioc  a  sort  of  manioc  wine  ( shiki ),  a  mag¬ 
ical  drink  which  is  ceremonially  drunk  on  the  last  day  of  the  feast. 
Since  the  consuming  of  this  drink  forms  an  important  part  of  the 
conjurations  at  the  feast,  it  is  considered  fraught  with  danger  for 
the  slayer  to  prematurely  come  in  contact  even  with  the  roasted 
manioc  of  which  it  is  made. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  prescriptions  in  regard  to  the  diet  of  the 
Jibaro  warrior  are  founded  on  the  idea  that  by  eating  the  flesh  of 
certain  other  animals  he  will  acquire  qualities  characteristic  of  these 
animals,  which  make  it  easier  for  him  to  escape  his  invisible  super¬ 
natural  enemy  as  well  as  his  living  relatives.  From  this  point  of 
view  we  have  to  explain,  for  instance,  the  recommendation  for  the 
slayer  to  eat  the  flesh  gf  the  agouti.  This  small  rodent  is  very  shy 
and  runs  fast,  being  rather  difficult  to  catch.  By  eating  the  animal 
the  slayer  will  acquire  the  same  quality,  at  present  very  useful  to 
him.  Similarly  the  fish  icdmbi  is  known  as  very  shy  and  quick,  great 
skill  being  required  for  catching  it.  The  large  fish  ndpi  also  cun¬ 
ningly  hides  in  the  depths  of  the  great  rivers  and  lagoons,  thus  easily 
escaping  his  persecutors.  Even  this  fish,  therefore,  possesses  quali¬ 
ties  which  are  useful  for  the  Jibaro  warrior  who  is  trying  to  evade 
his  enemies. 

The  prohibition  for  the  slayer  to  eat  the  fish  kanga  is  explained 
from  the  mythological  ideas  of  the  Jibaros.  According  to  these,  as 
already  mentioned,  all  animal  beings,  even  the  fishes,  have  once  been 


46 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


men — that  is,  Jibaros.  Even  in  primitive  times  they  used  to  wage 
war  on  and  kill  each  other,  to  make  trophies  of  each  others’  heads 
and  to  celebrate  tsantsa  feasts.  The  fish  kanga ,  then,  in  a  fight  had 
been  killed  by  one  of  his  enemies,  who  later  on  was  changed  into  a 
bird,  the  umbrella  bird,  called  ungumi  by  the  Jibaros.  The  ungumi 
also  made  a  trophy  of  the  head  of  the  fish  kanga.  Therefore  the 
mouth  of  the  kanga  has  still  great  similarity  to  the  reduced  mouth 
of  a  human  tsantsa ,  and  this  is  the  reason  why  the  Jibaro  warrior, 
during  the  time  he  has  to  fast,  abstains  from  eating  that  fish. 

The  object  of  the  feast  suamartinyu ,  on  the  other  hand,  was  said 
to  be  to  promote  the  material  wealth  of  the  slayer,  especially  for 
the  period  falling  between  this  feast  and  the  final  victory  feast. 
For  the  latter  he  has  to  make  very  large  preparations  and,  so  to 
speak,  start  his  economic  life  from  the  beginning.  Apart  from 
some  smaller  preparatory  work,  he  has  first  of  all  to  breed  a  num¬ 
ber  of  swine  and  chickens  to  be  slaughtered  at  the  feast,  and  to 
make  new  plantations  of  manioc,  plantain,  and  other  fruits,  which 
will  be  eaten  by  the  guests.  All  these  preparations,  and  especially 
the  breeding  of  the  swine  which  must  become  full  grown,  require 
about  two  years.  Now,  according  to  the  idea  of  the  Jibaros,  it  is 
precisely  the  tsantsa  which  will  Cause  the  domestic  animals  and  the 
fields  to  grow  and  develop  not  only  in  a  normal  way,  but  with  an 
extraordinary  force.  The  Jibaros  do  not  find  anything  contradic¬ 
tory  in  the  thought  that  the  spirit  of  the  slain  enemy  on  the  one 
hand  entertains  feelings  of  hatred  and  revenge  against  his  slayer 
and  always  looks  for  an  opportunity  to  harm  him,  and  on  the  other 
hand,  at  the  same  time,  as  it  were,  plays  a  role  as  his  friend  and 
adviser.  The  latter,  it  must  be  understood,  he  has  become  under 
the  influence  of  the  magical  conjuration,  through  the  ceremonies 
performed  at  the  feast  suamartinyu.  It  is  therefore  of  paramount 
importance  that  these  ceremonies  should  be  carried  out  in  the 
proper  way  and  with  due  care,  just  as  it  is  important  that  the  slayer 
himself  should  continue  strictly  to  observe  the  rules  of  fasting. 

After  the  feast  suamartinyu  the  slayer  undertakes  a  small  jour¬ 
ney,  just  as  he  did  after  he  had  “washed  off  the  blood.”  Before  he 
can  make  use  of  the  greater  liberty  with  regard  to  his  mode  of 
life  which  is  conceded  to  him  after  the  said  feast,  it  is  considered 
necessary  that  the  black  painting  applied  to  his  body  at  the  feast 
should  have  completely  disappeared.  The  black  dye  prepared  of 
the  fruit  of  the  Geniya  americana ,  owing  to  its  richness  in  tannin, 
is  very  astringent,  and  in  spite  of  any  washing  does  not  leave  m 
less  than  four  or  five  days.  The  slayer  as  usual  retires  to  the  forest, 
staying  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  sasa,  where  he  bathes  repeatedly, 
and  sleeping  at  night  in  a  small  ranch  made  close  by.  After  the 
lapse  of  some  days,  when  there  are  no  traces  left  on  his  body  of 


karsten] 


BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS 


47 


the  painting,  he  returns  to  his  home,  where  he,  in  the  main,  resumes 
his  former  normal  life,  the  only  exception  being  the  fasting  which 
he  is  still  bound  to  observe. 

During  the  time  following  the  slayer  continually  has  intercourse 
with  the  spirit  of  the  enemy  he  has  killed,  whom  he  meets  and  con¬ 
verses  with,  especially  in  his  dreams.  Through  the  ceremonies  of 
conjuration  performed,  the  wakdni  is  now  turned  into  his  obedient 
slave,  and  is  obliged  to  put  his  superhuman  power  and  knowledge  at 
his  disposal.  The  spirit  gives  his  victor  instructions  and  advises  him 
as  to  how  the  swine  and  the  chickens  ought  to  be  fed  and  taken  care 
of  in  order  that  they  may  grow  quickly,  get  fat  and  increase,  or  how 
the  plantations  ought  to  be  attended  to,  cleaned  and  irrigated  in 
order  that  they  may  flourish  and  bear  abundant  fruits.  In  the  dream 
the  spirit  shows  to  the  slayer  the  tracks  of  the  numerous  swine  which 
will  be  the  result  of  such  care,  and  he  lets  him  hear  the  sound  of 
their  grunting.  The  latter  also  believes  that  he  sees  his  house  sur¬ 
rounded  by  large  flourishing  plantations  of  manioc,  bananas,  sweet 
potatoes,  and  other  fruits,  even  they  being  the  future  result  of  the  su¬ 
pernatural  power  of  the  tsantsa.  The  fact  that  the  slayer,  through  his 
intercourse  with  the  wakdni ,  becomes  invested  with  an  extraordinary 
insight  in  all  domestic  works,  also  explains  why  during  this  time  he 
becomes  the  adviser  of  the  women  at  the  attendance  of  the  domestic 
animals  and  at  the  cultivation  of  the  fields,  occupations  that  normally, 
according  to  the  division  of  labor  prevailing  among  the  Jibaros,  are 
incumbent  solely  upon  the  women.  With  the  tsantsa  hanging  round 
his  neck  he  now  and  then  goes  out  in  the  swine  yard  and  gives  the 
women  instructions  with  regard  to  details  of  attendance  of  the  ani¬ 
mals,  or  out  to  the  manioc  plantations  where  he  gives  them  similar 
prescriptions  concerning  agriculture. 

During  all  this,  however,  great  caution  and  care  is  still  necessary 
for  the  victor.  If  he,  for  instance,  is  negligent  in  observing  the  rules 
in  regard  to  fasting,  it  may  happen  that  the  result  of  the  whole  thing 
turns  out  contrary  to  the  one  expected.  Through  such  negligence  he 
not  only  exposes  himself  personally  to  danger,  but  it  may  also  happen 
that  the  swine,  instead  of  growing  and  increasing  in  number,  will  die. 
through  the  wakdni ,  in  the  shape  of  a  poisonous  snake,  biting  them  to 
death,  or  killing  them  in  some  other  way.  The  plantations  likewise, 
instead  of  flourishing  and  giving  fruits,  may  dry  away.  All  these 
calamities  are  operations  of  the  revengeful  spirit,  against  whom  suf¬ 
ficient  precautions  have  not  been  taken. 

In  case,  however,  everything  has  turned  out  well,  if  the  swine  have 
become  full  grown  and  fat,  if  the  fields  have  given  abundant  fruits 
so  that  there  is  a  good  supply  of  manioc,  bananas,  and  sweet  potatoes, 
the  warrior  begins  to  take  steps  for  the  celebration  of  the  proper 
victory  feast,  the  so-called  einsupani. 


48 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


THE  TSANTSA  FEAST— EIN  SUP  AN  I 

The  general  name  for  a  feast  among  the  Jibaros  is  nambera ,  which 
word,  however,  particularly  signifies  a  drinking  feast.  The  tsantsa 
feast  is,  therefore,  sometimes  called  nambera  tsantsa .* 6  The  tech¬ 
nical  name  for  this  feast  is  einsupani ,  from  ein(t)su ,  “folk,” 
“  people,”  and  the  word  “  pant ,”  which  also  seems  to  mean  “  feast,” 
but  is  only  used  in  this  and  a  couple  of  other  words.7  “  To  cele¬ 
brate  a  feast”  means  ihiambrama ,  whereas  the  verbal  substantive 
ihiambratinyu  signifies  the  person  who  makes  the  feast,  or  in  whose 
honor  it  is  held.  The  principal  person  at  the  tsantsa  feast — that  is, 
the  slayer — is  also  entitled  mnngertoma  (“the  one  who  has  killed”). 
As  a  host  at  the  feast  he  is  called  heindinyu.  ■ 

The  tsantsa  feast  is  also  sometimes  called  tsantsa  yuoma — that  is, 
“the  eating  of  the  tsantsa ” — which  expression  especially  lias  ref¬ 
erence  to  the  series  of  conjurations  through  which  the  spirit  of  the 
killed  enemy  is  trodden  under  foot,  mortified,  and  enslaved.  When 
the  Jibaro  is  speaking  of  an  enemy  whom  he  particularly  hates  and 
wants  to  kill  he  says  of  him:  “ Yuotakei ” — “I  will  eat  him.”  This 
expression  may  be  a  survival  from  a  time  when  the  Jibaros  were 
cannibals,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  at  the  head  feast,  as  we  shall  see, 
a  ceremony  has  formerly  taken  place  which  may  be  regarded  as 
cannibalism. 

The  final  tsantsa  feast  generally  takes  place  about  one  and  a  half 
or  two,  sometimes  even  three  or  more,  years  after  the  suamartinyu , 
according  to  the  thoroughness  with  which  the  victor  wants  to  pre¬ 
pare  himself  for  the  same.  One  or  two  months  before  the  prepa¬ 
rations  proper  begin  the  slayer  returns  to  that  life  of  a  penitent 
which  was  prescribed  for  him  during  the  period  between  numbui- 
martinyu  and  suamartinyu.  He  thus  is  not  allowed  to  wear  other 
clothes  than  his  loin  cloth,  keeps  his  hair  untied,  resigns  all  orna¬ 
ments  and  facial  painting,  does  not  bear  a  lance,  does  not  go  out 
hunting  or  fishing,  abstains  from  sleeping  with  his  wife,  etc.  His 
diet  also  is  much  the  same  as  then.  From  now  until  the  feast  is 
over  he  eats  only  fruits,  manioc,  bananas,  sweet  potatoes,  etc.,  but  only 
boiled,  not  roasted. 

All  preparations  for  the  feast  are  made  by  the  slayer  himself, 
who  also  acts  as  host  at  the  feast.  In  this  quality  he  has  to  attend 
to  several  representative  duties. 

One  and  a  half  or  two  months  before  the  feast  the  women  com¬ 
mence  to  make  the  many  clay  vessels  needed,  a  work  which  they 
continue  for  some  weeks.  Among  these  clay  vessels  there  are  large 


•  The  word  histn,  which  is  now  most  frequently  used  for  a  feast  (tsantsa  hista,  etc.), 

is  borrowed  from  Spanish  t fiesta I. 

7  Kusupani,  **  the  feast  of  the  men,”  and  Yaurapani,  “  tile  feast  of  the  doys.’’ 


KARSTEN] 


BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS 


49 


pots  ( muitsa ),  in  which  the  great  quantity  of  manioc  beer  brewed 
for  the  feast  is  kept,  and  smaller  dishes  ( pininga ),  used  for  the 
food  and  the  drink.  The  large  pots  are  painted  red  with  ochre, 
but  without  ornaments.  Some  of  them,  however,  have  triangular 
black  figures  painted  at  the  mouth.  Even  the  piningas  have  the 
outside  uniformly  painted  red  with  ochre;  the  inside,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  adorned  with  various  ornamental  figures  on  a  black  ground. 
The  black  paint  used  is  a  sort  of  wax,  called  sekata ,  produced  by 
certain  wild  bees,  which  is  melted  at  the  fire  for  the  purpose  of 
painting.  The  ornaments  represent  spirits  ( wakdni ,  yusa) ,  often 
with  the  arms  stretched  out,  and  snakes,  especially  the  great  boa 
serpent  ( pangi ),  and  some  of  the  most  poisonous  snakes  known  to 
the  Indians,  as  well  as  butterflies  ( wambishku ).  Triangles  and 
other  linear  ornaments  are  also  common.  The  Jibaros  on  the  Rio 
Pastaza  usually  paint  the  outside  of  the  piningas  with  white  orna¬ 
ments  on  a  red  ground. 

Some  piningas  are  made  quite  small,  about  a  third  or  a  fourth  of 
the  normal  size.  These  are  intended  for  certain  persons,  who  at 
the  feast  take  part  in  important  conjurations,  and  hence  have  to 
fast  afterwards,  being  allowed  to  drink  only  a  small  quantity  of 
manioc  beer. 

A  quite  small  pot  is  made  with  special  care.  In  this  pot, 
managed  by  the  priest  or  whuea ,  the  juice  of  tobacco  is  kept,  which 
is  given  to  the  slayer  and  some  other  persons  at  the  feast  before  and 
during  certain  important  ceremonies.  The  pot  is  called  nattipya , 
and  is  provided  with  a  small  cover,  from  which  the  women  taking 
part  in  the  ceremonies  have  to  drink  the  juice  of  tobacco.  The  pot 
and  the  cover  are  likewise  painted  red  with  ochre. 

More  multifarious  are  the  preparatory  works  incumbent  on  the 
men.  At  first  they  make  a  number  of  benches  of  split  bamboo 
(guadua)  of  almost  square  form,  each  side  about  1^  meters  in  length, 
which  are  placed  along  the  walls  of  the  house  and  also  in  the  middle 
close  to  the  central  pillars  of  the  fore  room  (tangamasha).  These 
benches,  which  are  called  peaka ,  serve  as  seats  during  the  day  and  as 
bedsteads  during  the  night.  For  feasts  some  new  ones  must  always 
be  made  for  the  guests  who  pass  the  nights  in  the  house.  Some 
small  round  seats  ( kutdnga ),  for  one  man  to  sit  upon,  are  also  made. 
One  of  these  is  made  with  special  care.  Upon  this  kutdnga  the 
principal  person  of  the  feast,  the  slayer,  will  sit  during  the 
ceremonies. 

The  fetching  of  a  number  of  large  chonta  trunks  from  the  forest 
also  belongs  to  the  earlier  preparations  for  the  feast.  They  will 
serve  as  firewood  at  the  feast,  and  have  to  be  brought  in  good  time 
in  order  that  they  may  dry. 


50 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


{bull. 


Two  or  three  weeks  before  the  feast  the  younger  men  are  sent  to 
hunt  in  the  forest  and  to  fish  in  the  small  rivers.  These  hunting 
and  fishing  expeditions  before  a  feast  are  considered  very  important, 
for  a  good  supply  of  game  and  fish  must  be  procured  for  the  guests. 
Generally  these  expeditions  last  for  15  days.  The  game  and  fish 
are  always  brought  home  in  a  dried  condition. 

The  fishing  is  carried  out  by  varvasco  poison  (J acquinia  armil- 
laris) ,  called  timo  by  the  Jibaros.  With  this  poison  the  water  is 
poisoned  in  a  certain  part  of  the  small  river  chosen  for  the  purpose, 
the  river  being  previously  barred  with  sticks  and  stones. 

Two  weeks  before  the  feast  some  heads  of  green  bananas  are  hung 
up  on  the  ceiling  of  the  house,  in  order  that  they  may  get  yellow 
and  ripen.  Eipe  bananas  ( tsamd )  form  one  of  the  dishes  offered 
to  the  guests  at  the  feast. 

The  last  work  which  has  to  be  performed  by  the  men  consists  in 
weaving  a  dozen  large  baskets  (chariyina) ,  used  by  the  women  at 
the  feast  for  carrying  home  the  great  quantity  of  manioc,  camote, 
and  other  fruits  needed  for  the  daily  common  banquet.  The  work 
is  done  by  the  younger  male  members  of  the  family,  as  well  as  by 
their  friends  from  other  houses.  The  slayer  himself  goes  around  to 
the  houses  inviting  the  younger  men,  his  most  intimate  friends,  to 
help  at  the  work.  The  youths  at  first  go  out  into  the  forest  in  order 
to  collect  the  liana  used  for  basket  weaving,  called  cdpi ,  and  there¬ 
after  assemble  in  the  house  of  the  feast  giver,  where  the  work  takes 
place.  It  lasts  for  two  or  three  days.  When  it  is  finished  the  slayer 
expresses  his  thanks  to  the  young  men  for  their  help,  addressing 
each  of  them  separately  with  a  few  words  and  at  the  same  time  in¬ 
viting  them  to  the  feast. 

During  these  days  the  victor  has  been  engaged  in  inviting  other 
people  also  to  the  feast,  going  around  alone  from  house  to  house. 
The  invitation  is  always  made  in  a  ceremonial  way,  the  slayer  ad¬ 
dressing  the  person  concerned  in  a  sort  of  speech  and  speaking  in 
a  loud  voice.  While  thus  wandering  about  in  the  houses,  the  slayer 
does  not  carry  his  lance,  but  only  a  staff,  in  observance  of  the  rules 
prescribed  for  him  with  regard  to  the  wearing  of  arms. 

A  few  days  previous  to  the  arrival  of  other  guests,  two  old  per¬ 
sons  arrive  in  the  house  who  will  play  important  roles  at  the  feast. 
One  is  an  old  man  and  warrior,  who  himself  has  killed  some  ene¬ 
mies  and  celebrated  at  least  one  tsantsa  feast.  This  man  is  called 
whuea ,  and  may  be  said  to  act  as  priest  at  the  feast,  all  ceremonies 
being  carried  out  with  his  assistance.  In  most  cases  he  is  the  same 
person  who  conducted  the  ceremonies  at  the  feasts  numbuimartinyu 
and  suamartinyu. 

The  other  person  is  an  old  woman,  called  ohaha ,  who  at  the  feast 
will  conduct  all  ceremonies  performed  by  the  women,  especially  the 


karsten] 


BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS 


51 


incantations  and  conjurations,  acting  thus,  as  it  were,  as  a  priestess. 
She  has  also  led  such  ceremonies  at  the  earlier  minor  feasts.  Both 
the  whuea  and  the  ohaha  are  paid  for  their  services,  the  former 
receiving  from  the  slayer  an  itipi  (loin  cloth),  the  latter  a  woman’s 
garment  (called  tarachi).  They  also  receive  some  flesh  from  the 
swine  slaughtered  at  the  feast. 

The  Dance  “Wuimenshi  ” 

Immediately  after  the  basket  work  is  finished,  a  dance,  or  rather 
a  series  of  conjurations,  takes  place,  which,  on  account  of  the  word 
wuimina  (“  go  away  !  ”)  often  pronounced  therein,  is  called  “  ivuimen- 
shi This  dance,  which  may  be  regarded  as  an  introduction  to  the 
feast  proper,  is  performed  during  the  four  last  nights  before  the 
latter  commences,  and  its  aim  seems  to  be  in  part  to  paralyze  the 
danger  which  is  supposed  to  proceed  from  the  tsantsa ,  in  part  to 
increase  the  magical  power  of  the  trophy  and  make  it  effective  in 
different  departments  of  the  economic  and  social  life  of  the  Indians. 
With  the  dance  wuimenshi ,  therefore,  the  tsantsa  feast  may  be  said 
to  begin. 

This  dance  and  the  corresponding  conjurations  are  performed  by 
the  younger  men  and  women,  especially  by  the  men,  the  nearest 
friends  of  the  slayer.  In  the  first  place  those  youths  take  part  in  it 
who  made  the  baskets.  The  rest  of  the  guests  do  not  arrive  until 
some  days  later,  when  the  feast  properly  begins. 

As  is  the  case  with  most  Indian  dances,  the  wuimenshi  commences 
when  darkness  sets  in,  about  6  o’clock.  The  slayer  himself,  in  his 
quality  of  host,  goes  around  the  house  and  invites  his  friends  to 
take  part  in  the  dance. 

The  men  do  not  dress  in  festival  dresses  for  this  dance ;  the  women 
again,  as  usual,  wear  the  rattles  of  snail  shells  around  the  waist. 

Wuimenshi  is  a  ring  dance.  All  men  and  women  arrange  them¬ 
selves  in  a  circle  round  the  central  pillar  of  the  house  and  move 
round  in  slow  time,  holding  each  other’s  hands. 

The  dance  is  accompanied  by  conjurations.  The  first  conjuration 
especially  refers  to  the  game;  the  dancers  enumerating  all  those 
quadrupeds  and  birds  which  are  most  hunted  by  the  Jibaros.  First 
of  all,  different  kinds  of  monkeys  are  mentioned,  which  are  much 
appreciated  by  the  Indians  on  account  of  their  flesh,  their  fur,  and 
their  teeth.  The  tsantsa  thus,  by  virtue  of  its  supernatural  power, 
among  other  things  will  promote  the  hunting  luck  of  the  victor. 
From  the  last  incantations  it  moreover  appears  that  it  will  also 
exert  a  favorable  influence  upon  the  home  industry  of  the  Indians — 
weaving,  basket  raddling,  etc. 


52 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


The  wuimenshi  is  begun  with  shrill  whistles.  Thereafter  the 
dancers  proceed  to  enunciate  the  respective  words,  moving  round 
the  pillar,  each  word  being  followed  by  a  sonorous  “  hej!” 

The* conjuration  runs  as  follows: 

Hej,  hej ,  he']! 

Ydkuma ,  hej!  {yakuma— the  howling  monkey,  Myletes). 
Kapdndinyu ,  hej!  (kapandinyu— the  red  one;  the  howling  monkey 
is  of  red  color). 

( hhua ,  hej!  (chuo= the  brown  monkey). 
ib^sAm,  hej!  (washi— the  black  monkey,  Ateles  niger). 
tSepura ,  Ay/7  (sepura= a  smaller,  black,  long-haired  monkey). 
Tsiria ,  hej!  {tsiri— the  capuchin  monkey,  Cebus). 

Tsema ,  Ae;/7  {tsema— a  small  gray  monkey). 

Pdkkia ,  hej!  (pakki—  the  wild  hog). 

Kdvashua ,  hej!  (kavashu— the  green  parrot). 

Pusurshua ,  {pusurshu—^  the  long-tailed  one”). 

Mdshua ,  hej!  ( mds hu — p a ugi ,  6rraa?  paugi ). 

Kuchia ,  Ae/7  (AwcAtthe  domestic  pig). 

Kuturama ,  hej!  {kuturama—^  the  fat  one”). 

Ayandasta ,  hej!  (dyandasta= the  women's  clothing). 

Ikichia ,  hej!  (ikichi— girdle  to  confine  the  clothing  with). 
Changina ,  Acy/  (chang ina — r a d d  1  e d  basket),  etc. 

This  conjuration  is  continued  for  about  one  hour,  the  dancers 
meantime  moving  alternately  to  right  and  to  left.  Every  time  they 
stop  to  move  in  the  opposite  direction  they  give  loud  whistles  and 
shouts 'of  “  cA'£,  chi,  chi ,  cA^*,”  as  if  to  keep  up  with  these  shouts  the 
continuity  of  the  conjuration. 

Another  conjuration  is  devoted  to  women  and  the  fecundity  of  the 
women.  The  fruitfulness  of  the  women,  therefore,  will  be  one  more 
of  the  beneficial  effects  of  the  tsantsa. 

This  conjuration  is  as  follows: 

Hej!  hej!  hej! 

Noa ,  hej! 

Noa ,  hej! 

Kanutpla ,  hej! 

Kanutpia ,  hej! 

Nihantsi  suruchu  kanutpia ,  A  e/7 
Kanutpani  hit l a,  hej! 

N  urn Jj  in  tiny  a, ,  hej! 

Nihirseisaka ,  kahetpia ,  hej! 

Noa ,  hej! 

Noa  hej! 

Kahetpia ,  hej! 

Nikasn  e Hi,  A  e  /  / 


KAKSTEN] 


53 


BLOOl)  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS 


Kitgamue,  hej! 

Pingerati ,  hej  ! 

Maketi ,  hej! 

The  word  noa  means  “  woman.”  Kanutpia ,  kahetpia ,  nwnbintinya . 
nihirseisaka ,  are  different  expressions  for  the  sexual  act.  Nihdntsi 
suruchu—u  may  the  tsantsa  grant  it;”  “  nikasneiti  ”=“  may  it  be 
true;”  eitgamue—^  so  we  will  do;”  pingerati— u  it  be  pice;” 

maketi— u  it  is  enough.” 

Of  an  altogether  different  kind  is  the  conjuration  now  beginning. 
It  is  the  mysterious  song  to  the  bird  kungupi ,  a  word  therein  repeat¬ 
edly  pronounced.  The  soft  melody  seems  to  indicate  that  the  song  of 
kungupi  is  in  part  a  prayer,  in  part  a  conjuration.  The  youths, 
while  singing,  dance  in  a  ring  round  the  pillar  as  before. 

The  melody  is  the  following: 


& 


m 


Kun ,  kun~^u-pi  kurw^u-pi  ,  kun-^u~  pi , 


/ - 1 - K - £ - \  \  v 

\  >  )  >  > 

(l  )  m  V  V  Y 

-  J  .  , r  ' 

jL  /  ~  .  m  ..  r  m . Mzz 

Jtt _ m. _ m _ €L _ m _ « _ 

kun-^u-pi  .  kun-^u-pi ,  kun'^vrpi  ,  kurr^ir  pi . 

Rep.ad.lib. 


Kungupi  is  a  mysterious  nightbird  which  the  Jibaros  regard  with 
superstitious  dread,  believing  that  the  soul  of  the  murdered  enemy 
may  take  the  shape  of  that  bird  and  then  send  them  sickness  and 
death.  Whether  we  are  here  dealing  with  a  purely  mythical  bird, 
or  a  really  existing  one,  I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain.  To  the 
mind  of  the  Jibaros,  of  course,  it  is  a  real  bird;  but  no  one  of  the 
Avhites  living  in  the  regions  inhabited  by  these  Indians  knows  any¬ 
thing  about  the  bird  kungupi.  Very  long  ago,  the  Jibaros  told  me, 
one  of  their  ancestors  had  suddenly  died  at  a  feast,  and  his  death 
was  ascribed  to  the  bird  kungupi ,  the  shape  of  which  the  killed  enemy 
was  supposed  to  have  taken.  Since  that  time,  at  every  tsantsa  feast, 
they  sing  a  special  conjuration  to  the  ominous  bird  in  order  to  pre¬ 
vent  the  repetition  of  such  an  incident. 

Having  for  a  while  merely  repeated  the  word  kungupi  in  a  certain 
melody,  the  dancers  continue  with  the  phrases  mana ,  michaki ,  kung¬ 
upi,  kungupi ,  and  wuimina,  michaki,  kungupi,  kungupi,  which  is  a 
formula  for  conjuring  away  the  fatal  bird  (wuimina— go  away; 
michaki—  “  may  you  get  cold  !  ”  “  may  you  stiffen  !  ” — an  expression 
frequently  used  in  similar  conjurations). 

Another  conjuration  of  the  same  kind  is  the  following  chant: 
Yawanu  ikyama, 

Yawanu  ikyama, 


54 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


Y  awartaki  takarseipya, 

Wuimina  chianga , 

Huimya ,  huimya , 

Wuimina  chianga, 

Wuimina  chianga, 

TJmana  michakia , 

W  uimina  michaki, 

TJmana  chianga, 

TJmana  chiasua, 

TJ mand  chianga, 

Nuruna  chdsamana , 

Tahiti  chiangana,  etc. 

In  this  chant  it  is  particularly  “  the  tiger  in  the  forest”  (yawanu 
ikyama)  that  is  the  object  of  the  conjuration  (y awartaki  takarsei- 
pya=u  tiger,  don’t  touch  us!”  wuimina,  mwhakia— “  go  away,  get 
cold!  ”),  in  order  that  he  may  not  come  and  kill  the  Indians.  Evi¬ 
dently  it  is  believed  that  the  tiger  (jaguar)  is  another  shape  which 
the  soul  of  the  killed  enemy  may  assume  when  trying  to  take  revenge 
upon  the  victor. 

Now  a  series  of  other  conjurations  follow,  the  general  object  of 
which  seems  to  be  to  increase  the  magical  power  of  the  tsantsa.  A 
number  of  short  formulas  are  repeated,  the  exact  meaning  of  which 
seems  to  be  unknown  even  to  the  dancing  Indians  themselves.  We 
are  here  dealing  with  an  archaic  or  ceremonial  language  which,  at 
the  most,  is  understood  by  some  of  the  oldest  Indians.  The  dancing 
youths  repeat  the  .same  phrase  for  about  an  hour.  Then  some  old 
Indian  recites  another  similar  formula  of  conjuration  in  a  special 
melody,  and  this  is  in  its  turn  repeated  for  a  while  in  the  same  way. 
Each  formula  is  finished  with  shrill  whistles  and  shouts  of  “  chi,  chi, 
chi,”  and  such  exclamations  also  accompany  the  interruption  which 
takes  place  when  the  dancers  change  from  the  right  to  the  left  and 
vice  versa.  Examples  of  such  formulas,  unintelligible  as  to  their  ex¬ 
act  meaning,  are  the  following: 

Mainia  mainiatekana. 

Kukuyukunta  kunyukunta. 

Sivu,  sivu ,  sivahamha. 

Si/rumbachi  wahe,  etc. 

The  dancers  thus,  for  instance,  during  half  an  hour  may  inces¬ 
santly  repeat  the  formula  mainia  mainiatekana,  mainia  mainiate¬ 
kana,  continuing  thereafter  with  another  formula. 

Other  formulas  of  conjuration  are  more  intelligible,  as  for  instance 
the  following: 

( A  )mue  sinchimaka,  cliikichitantani,  ay  a,  ay  a, 

(A)mue  sinchimaka,  liimeritantani,  ay  a,  ay  a: 

“  Make  thee  strong,  make  thee  poAverful,  my  only  tsantsa.” 


karsten] 


BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS 


55 


In  the  ceremonial  language  the  Jibaros  often  make  use  of  certain 
Quichua  words,  which  are  very  rare  in  their  language.  The  word 
sinchi  is  Quichua  and  means  “  strong  ” ;  and  likewise  the  word  aya, 
which  means  u  soul,”  “  dead  man.”  In  the  formula  mentioned  the 
soul  of  the  enemy,  materialized  in  the  tsantsa ,  is  directly  spoken  to. 

The  phrases  are  in  most  cases  recited  quite  monotonously  or  nearly 
as  when  one  speaks.  In  other  cases  they  are  sung  in  a  special  melody, 
as  in  the  following  chant  directed  to  the  maikoa ,  the  most  important 
narcotic  drink  of  the  Jibaros :  • 

“  Maikoa  make  sinchi  •  maikoa  make  sinchi .” 

“  Make  the  maikoa  strong ;  make  the  maikoa  very  strong.” 


t— 5 - r - 

S - V— b-t, 

V.-...  r-L - S  k-y 

N  S 

^  ^  ..  — ~ 1  IT 

*  '  l_ r  o 

-/rig - 7 - n  ■  t • — w - ^ m ^ m ~  ^  i  ^  ^ 

zs/L?— y- 9 

-  .1  - - - 

— w - W - W w w ^  ^ 

Mai -Ko-a  Ma-ke  sin-chi,  mai -ko-a  ma-ke  sinchi. mai-ko_a 


> 

-4— h 

fi — 

— t 

) — k 

r  r  r  r-  -i  m  >  —r— r -  = = m 

my  x 

1 

Ay  z= 

2 - 

l—l - 

ma  -ke  sin-chi  , mai  -ko-a  ma-ke  sin- chi .  mai -ko-a 


fIJ  J  J  ) 


ma-ke  s  in -chi ,  mai -ko-a  ma-ke  sin -chi 

Rep.  ocl.  lib. 


During  the  days  that  the  dance  wuimenshi  takes  place  the  tsantsa , 
enveloped  in  a  cloth,  is  kept  hanging  over  one  of  the  fires  in  the  house 
in  such  a  way  that  it  is  continually  touched  by  the  smoke  from  the 
fire.  The  object  of  keeping  the  trophy  in  this  way  is  partly  to  kill  the 
microbes  which  are  likely  to  destroy  it,  partly,  as  it  seems,  to  mortify 
the  spirit  of  the  dead  enemy.  The  spirit  ( wakani ) ,  according  to  the 
idea  of  the  Indians,  always  keeps  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  tsantsa 
and  now  and  then  approaches  the  head  in  the  ghostly,  invisible  shape 
of  a  man.  During  the  dance  and  the  conjurations  the  Indians  at 
times  move  away  from  the  chonta  pillar  round  which  they  dance  and 
make  a  tour  of  the  house,  when  they  also  approach  the  trophy  hang¬ 
ing  over  the  fire  and  chant  to  it. 

The  slayer  himself  does  not  take  part  in  the  dance,  but  he  is  not 
allowed  to  sleep  at  all  during  the  night.  Sitting  on  a  sort  of  chair 
of  honor  specially  made  for  him,  he  merely  looks  on  at  the  perform¬ 
ance,  only  now  and  then  giving  the  young  men  a  sign  to  stop  dancing 
or  to  begin  again.  Outside  the  ring  some  old  women  take  their 
stand,  offering  manioc  beer  to  the  dancing  men  and  women,  who 
by  turns  step  out  from  the  ring  to  empty  a  pininga  of  the  drink. 
As  a  rule,  the  women  only  take  part  in  the  beginning  of  the 
dance ;  the  men,  on  the  contrary,  have  to  continue  with  it  until  dawn. 
At  6  o’clock  an  older  Indian  comes  and  gives  three  strokes  with  a 


56 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  70 


staff  to  the  chonta  pillar  round  which  the  dancers  move.  This  is  a 
signal  for  them  to  finish  the  dance  for  that  night.  All  the  young 
men  and  women  now  run  out  and  down  to  the  river,  where  they 
bathe.  All  the  dances  of  the  Jibaros  are  finished  with  such  a  general 
bath  in  the  river. 

The  dance  wuimenshi  is  also  continued  during  the  following  three 
nights. 

The  Preparation  of  the  Manioc  Beer  (Nthamanchi)  and  the 

Manioc  Wine  (Sanguctia  Shiki) 

The  following  day,  that  is,  three  days  before  the  feast  proper 
begins,  the  manioc  beer  to  be  served  to  the  many  guests,  and  also  a 
manioc  wine  which  is  to  be  drunk  at  the  end  of  the  feast,  are  pre¬ 
pared.  The  preparation  of  both  these  drinks,  and  especially  of  the 
manioc  wine,  is  of  a  ceremonial  character.  The  main  thing  is  to  make 
them  as  strong  as  possible,  this  being  essential  for  the  success  of  the 
feast.  The  slayer  himself,  therefore,  must  personally  assist  in  the 
work,  in  order  to  transfer  his  own  power  to  the  beverages.  The  lead¬ 
ing  principle  in  the  whole  tsantsa  feast,  as  already  mentioned,  is 
that  the  slayer,  by  virtue  of  the  close  relation  established  between 
him  and  the  spirit  of  his  victim,  becomes  invested  with  supernatural 
power  and  knowledge  which  he  is  trying  to  use  for  his  own  ends  and 
to  make  effective  in  different  departments  of  his  economic  life. 

Early  in  the  morning  all  the  women,  headed  by  the  wife  of  the 
slayer  and  the  priestess  (oho ha) ,  go  out  to  the  manioc  fields  to  fetch 
the  manioc  for  preparing  the  drinks  mentioned.  Each  of  the  women 
carries  one  of  the  baskets  ( changina )  just  made,  ancl  they  are  ac¬ 
companied  by  the  men  armed  with  lances.  The  manioc  which  is  to 
be  brought  home  by  the  wife  of  the  slayer,  and  of  which  the  im¬ 
portant  manioc  wine  is  to  be  prepared,  is  gathered  with  especial  care. 
When  the  woman  pulls  up  the  first  stalk  of  manioc — which  ought  to 
be  particularly  large  and  w^ell  grown — the  priestess  is  holding  her 
wrist  and  likewise  helps  her  to  lay  it  down  in  the  basket.  She  then 
fills  the  basket  with  other  manioc  fruits  without  the  aid  of  the 
priestess.  The  women  return  to  the  house  with  their  baskets  in  about 
two  hours,  and  at  once  start  the  preparations.  The  fruit  is  washed 
and  the  majority  of  it  is  peeled,  parted,  and  boiled  in  various  large 
clay  pots.  From  this  manioc,  through  masticating  and  mashing  the 
fruit,  fermented  manioc  substance  is  later  prepared. 

The  manioc  wine  (shiki)  is  prepared  in  another  way.  For  this 
purpose  the  manioc  is  first  roasted,  not  boiled,  a  work  performed  by 
the  priest  (whuea)  at  a  big  fire  outside  the  house  (pi.  5,  5),  with 
the  assistance  of  some  other  Indians.  As  soon  as  a  sufficient  quantity 


karsten]  BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS  57 

of  the  fruit  has  been  roasted  it  is  taken  into  the  house  and  laid  on 
some  large  banana  leaves.  At  the  side  of  it  three  baskets  ( changina ) 
are  placed,  which  are  to  be  filled  with  the  roasted  fruit.  A  heap 
of  certain  large  forest  leaves,  called  kachini  by  the  Jibaros,  and  an¬ 
other  heap  of  a  smaller  kind  of  leaf  called  wambd ,  are  also  placed 
close  by.  On  a  special  banana  leaf  there  is  a  piece  of  salt  and  a 
piece  of  the  stem  of  the  manioc  plant  with  the  rind,  which  has  previ¬ 
ously  been  roasted. 

Now,  the  roasted  fruit  has  to  be  laid  in  the  three  baskets,  and  at 
this  the  slayer  himself  and  his  wife  and  daughter  have  to  assist, 
the  priest  ( whuea )  conducting  the  ceremonies.  The  latter,  who  has 
previously  prepared  some  juice  of  tobacco  in  his  nattipya ,  gives  some 
of  this  medicine,  first  to  the  slayer  and  then  to  his  wife  and  daugh¬ 
ter,  the  first  mentioned,  as  usual,  receiving  it  through  the  nose,  the 
latter  through  the  mouth.  The  priest  subsequently  grasps  the  slayer 
by  the  wrist,  and  the  latter  leans  down  and  takes  one  of  the  large 
kachini  leaves  and  lays  it  carefully  down  upon  the  bottom  of  one  of 
the  three  baskets.  Thereupon  he,  with  the  aid  of  the  priest,  takes  one 
of  the  smaller  wambd  leaves  and  lays  it  in  the  same  way  in  the  basket 
upon  the  first  leaf.  Then  the  slayer,  whose  hand  is  still  held  by  the 
priest,  takes  one  of  the  roasted  maniocs  and  opens  it  with  his  fingers. 
An  older  Indian  holds  out  the  leaf  with  the  salt  and  the  roasted 
manioc  stem,  the  latter  having  previously  been  scraped  with  a  knife, 
so  that  a  small  quantity  of  a  brown  powder  has  been  obtained.  The 
slayer  with  two  fingers  takes  a  little  of  this  powder  and  puts  it  into 
the  parted  manioc  fruit.  Then  he  takes  a  piece  of  salt,  bites  off  a 
little  of  it,  and  puts  this  small  piece  into  the  fruit.  He  then  closes 
the  latter  with  his  hands  and  lays  it  carefully  in  the  basket  upon  the 
leaves  previously  laid  there.  Exactly  the  same  is  repeated  with 
another  manioc.  The  slayer  opens  the  fruit  with  his  fingers,  puts  a 
little  of  the  brown  powder  as  well  as  a  small  piece  of  salt  into  it, 
and  then  lays  the  fruit  in  the  basket  at  the  side  of  the  manioc  first 
placed  there.  Thereupon  he  takes  a  large  kachini  leaf,  as  well  as  a 
wambd  leaf,  and  lays  these  in  the  basket  upon  the  fruit.  While  all 
these  operations  have  been  performed  the  wrist  of  the  slayer  has  been 
held  by  the  priest.  Now  the  same  is  repeated  with  the  wife  of  the 
slayer,  whose  right  hand  is  held  by  the  old  man.  She  takes  a  manioc, 
opens  it,  sprinkles  some  of  the  brown  powder  and  a  little  salt  into  it, 
again  closes  it,  and  then  places  it  in  the  basket  upon  the  leaves  last 
laid  down  there.  A  second  manioc  is  in  like  manner  put  into  the 
basket  by  her.  Lastly,  she  covers  the  fruit  with  a  kachini  and  a 
wambd  leaf,  just  as  was  done  by  the  slayer.  Finally,  the  daughter 
of  the  slayer  performs  the  same  action,  putting  two  maniocs  into  the 
basket  and  covering  them  with  the  leaves,  the  girl  being  in  the  same 
2119°— 23 - 5 


58 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


way  assisted  by  the  priest.  In  all,  six  manioc  fruits  have  thus  been 
ceremonially  placed  in  the  basket. 

An  older  Indian  now  continues  the  work  of  filling  the  basket  with 
roasted  manioc  until  it  is  nearly  full,  but  he  does  it  without  ceremony 
and  is  not  assisted  by  the  priest.  Nor  is  the  brown  powder  or  the 
salt  put  into  the  fruit.  However,  the  last  maniocs  Avith  which  the 
basket  is  filled  must  again  be  laid  down  by  the  slayer,  his  wife,  and 
daughter,  and  with  the  same  ceremonies  as  before.  Each  of  them 
thus,  with  the  assistance  of  the  priest,  again  places  two  maniocs  in 
the  basket,  sprinkling  some  of  the  brown  powder  and  a  little  salt 
into  them  and  covering  them  with  the  leaves.  The  basket  having 
been  filled,  the  slayer,  assisted  by  the  priest,  carefully  covers  it  with 
leaves  and  ties  it  over  with  lianas. 

With  exactly  the  same  ceremonies  the  two  other  baskets  are  filled, 
the  slayer,  his  wife,  and  daughter  always  laying  down  the  first  and 
the  last  maniocs  and  covering  them  wTith  leaves. 

At  the  other  end  of  the  house,  in  the  women’s  quarters,  a  sort  of 
shelter  or  broad  shelf  has  been  made  of  split  bamboo,  resting  upon 
four  poles  about  1J  or  2  meters  in  height.  Under  this  shelter  the 
large  clay  pots  in  which  the  manioc  substance  is  laid  for  fermenting 
are  later  placed  upon  the  ground.  Even  the  three  baskets  containing 
the  roasted  manioc  are  brought  here.  They  are  not  laid  on  the 
ground  but  are  hung  up  to  the  roof  by  means  of  a  special  pole  fixed 
in  the  ground.  The  slayer  himself  carries  the  baskets  here  from  the 
place  where  they  had  been  filled  with  the  fruit,  the  priest  holding 
his  hands.  The  slayer  takes  the  pole  and  fixes  it  in  the  ground  close 
to  one  of  the  four  poles  upon  which  the  shelter  rests.  Other  men 
complete  the  work,  fixing  the  pole  more  steadily  in  the  ground  and 
tying  it  to  the  other  poles.  The  slayer,  whose  hands  are  held  by  the 
priest,  lifts  up  one  of  the  three  baskets  and  hangs  it  upon  the  pole. 
Thereafter,  with  the  aid  of  the  priest,  he  hangs  the  two  other  baskets 
upon  the  pole. 

The  baskets  are  left  hanging  here  for  three  days  until  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  the  feast,  manioc  wine  being  then  prepared  from  them  in  a 
way  to  be  described  later.  During  these  days  the  fruit  will  “  ripen  ” 
properly;  the  powder  and  the  salt  put  into  the  manioc  wUl  impreg¬ 
nate  the  fruit  and  exert  some  mysterious  influence  to  the  effect  that 
the  wine  prepared  from  it  will  turn  out  exceedingly  strong.  To  the 
kachini  and  wambd  leaves,  placed  in  the  baskets,  some  mysterious 
influence  is  also  ascribed. 

While  this  work  has  been  done  by  the  slayer,  his  wife  and 
daughter,  and  some  of  the  men,  the  rest  of  the  women,  headed  by 
the  priestess,  have  been  engaged  in  preparing  the  manioc  beer 
(nihamdnchi) .  After  the  fruit  has  been  boiled  it  has  to  be  masti¬ 
cated,  a  work  which  it  takes  some  two  hours  to  perform.  The  masti- 


karsten]  blood  revenge,  war,  and  victory  feasts  59 

eating  of  the  manioc  for  the  feasts  is  a  real  ceremony  and  is  called 
nauma.  Generally  only  the  women  take  part  in  it,  since  the  prepara¬ 
tion  of  the  beer  is  a  work  particularly  incumbent  on  the  women.  Of 
the  fruit,  however,  only  a  part,  or  at  the  most  a  half,  is  masticated. 
The  rest  of  it  is  only  mashed.  The  manioc  masticated  is  thoroughly 
mixed  with  saliva  and  then  spat  out  in  a  number  of  large  clay  pots 
( rnuitsa ).  In  each  of  these  some  of  the  mashed  manioc  is  added 
and  the  whole  substance  is  carefully  stirred. 

Generally  the  pots  are  now  only  covered  with  banana  leaves  and 
the  substance  allowed  to  ferment.  For  the  great  feasts,  however,  an 
especial  ferment,  consisting  of  previously  chewed  and  fermented 
manioc,  is  added  in  order  that  the  beer  may  turn  out  stronger.  A 
small  clay  vessel  with  this  ferment  is  kept  ready.  The  following 
operations  are,  in  the  main,  carried  out  only  by  the  women — first 
of  all  by  the  wife  of  the  slayer,  who  is  assisted  by  the  priestess 
( ohdhci ).  However,  even  the  slayer  himself  must  assist  at  some 
actions,  to  transfer  his  power  to  the  beverage.  The  wife  of  the 
slayer,  whose  hands  are  held  by  the  priestess,  carries  each  of  the 
pots  containing  the  manioc  substance  to  the  shelter  before  mentioned, 
where  the  fermentation  will  take  place.  Six  or  eight  large  pots  are 
thus  placed  under  the  shelter  in  holes  previously  made  in  the  ground 
for  the  purpose.  In  order  that  the  pots  may  stand  more  steadily 
they  are  supported  underneath  by  pieces  of  the  genipa  fruit.  These 
pieces  are  placed  under  the  pots  by  the  slayer  in  a  ceremonial  way, 
his  hands  being  meantime  held  by  the  priest.  The  wife  of  the 
slayer,  assisted  by  the  ohdha ,  now  puts  a  little  of  the  manioc  ferment 
just  mentioned  into  each  of  the  pots,  but  before  the  ferment  is  put 
in  the  slayer  has  each  time  to  taste  a  little  of  it.  The  pots  are  then 
carefully  covered  with  large  leaves  by  the  wife  of  the  slayer,  whose 
hands  are  held  by  the  ohdha ,  and  finally  tied  with  lianas. 

Some  of  the  large  clay  pots  are  tied  on  the  outside  with  strips  of 
bast  in  such  a  way  as  to  form  ornamental  figures  or  patterns  like 
those  formed  in  basket  weaving.  The  real  significance  of  this  ar¬ 
rangement  is  not  quite  clear.  It  is  possible  that  its  object  is  only  to 
give  strength  to  the  pots  so  that  they  shall  not  burst  at  the  fermen¬ 
tation  of  the  manioc  substance.  But  it  is  also  possible  that  some 
mysterious  power  is  ascribed  to  the  strips  as  well  as  to  the  orna¬ 
ments  formed  by  them — a  power  which  will  promote  the  fermenta¬ 
tion  and  contribute  to  making  the  beverage  strong.  This,  at  any 
rate,  is  the  object  of  the  genipa  fruit  placed  under  the  pots.  The 
genipa — from  which  the  magical  black  body-paint  is  prepared — will 
communicate  its  power  to  the  pots  and  the  sacred  substance  contained 
in  them,  a  power  further  increased  by  the  fact  that  the  slayer  himself 
places  the  fruit  there. 


60 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  70 


It  is  supposed  to  be  of  essential  importance  that  the  clay  pots 
should  be  placed  firmly  in  the  ground,  for  then  the  fermentation 
also  will  take  place  steadily,  and  no  disturbing  influences  will  make 
themselves  felt. 

All  these  preparations  have  taken  the  main  part  of  the  day  to  ac¬ 
complish,  and  are  not  finished  until  the  afternoon.  The  fermenta¬ 
tion,  which  in  a  way  is  the  most  important  detail  of  the  whole  thing, 
however,  still  has  to  take  place.  In  order  to  hurry  or  favorably  in¬ 
fluence  the  process  of  fermentation  all  the  women  sit-down  on  the 
ground  around  the  pots  containing  the  manioc  substance  and,  led  by 
the  priestess,  sing  a  sort  of  chant  or  conjuration.  With  this  cere¬ 
mony,  which  lasts  for  about  half  an  hour,  the  preparation  of  the 
manioc  beer  ends. 

The  fact  that  only  the  women  have  to  brew  the  manioc  beer — 
which  is  the  rule  among  all  Indians — is  due  to  the  same  reason  as 
make  the  cultivation  of  the  manioc  fields  a  business  solely  incumbent 
on  the  female  sex.  According  to  the  animistic  ideas  of  the  Jibaros, 
all  plants  are  animated  by  human  spirits  ( wakani ),  some  of  male 
sex,  some  of  female.  The  manioc,  like  most  other  domestic  plants, 
has  a  woman's  soul.  Hence — according  to  the  principle  “  like  is  best 
known  by  like" — the  women  have  to  cultivate  this  plant  just  as,  in 
regard  to  the  preparation  of  the  manioc  beer,  they  are  believed  to 
have  a  special  power  of  promoting  that  mysterious  and,  to  the  Indian 
mind,  unintelligible  process  of  nature  which  is  called  fermentation. 

After  the  slayer  has,  in  the  way  described,  assisted  in  the  prepara¬ 
tion  of  the  manioc  beer  and  the  manioc  wine,  his  role  with  regard  to 
the  preparations  for  the  feast  is  finished.  The  following  days  and 
nights  he  has  to  spend  outside  his  own  house,  making  on  the  third 
day,  when  the  feast  commences,  his  solemn  entrance  into  the  same. 
The  first  two  of  the  three  nights  he  thus  stays  outside  he  passes  in 
another  house  a  few  hours  away  from  his  own ;  the  third  night,  again, 
in  a  ranch  made  at  a  short  distance  from  the  house  of  the  feast.  The 
priest  ( whuea ),  who  always  must  remain  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
slayer  and  take  care  of  him,  follows  him  on  this  excursion. 

All  the  three  nights  that  the  slayer  is  absent  his  friends  in  the 
house  of  the  feast,  and  particularly  the  young  men,  perform  the  dance 
■wuhnenshi  in  the  same  way  as  on  the  first  night,  from  the  fall  of 
night  until  the  dawn. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  day  previous  to  the  commencement  of  the 
feast,  when  the  slayer  has  been  absent  for  two  nights,  the  following 
ceremony  takes  place  in  a  ranch  made  a  short  distance  from  the 
house  of  the  feast.  Some  of  the  older  Indians  take  the  trophy,  which, 
as  usual,  is  kept  hanging  over  the  fire,  place  it  upon  a  shield  and 
carry  it  to  the  ranch  mentioned.  In  this  ranch  the  slayer  and  the 
priest  now  stay,  and  they  will  also  pass  the  following  third  and  last 


karsten]  blood  revenge,  war,  and  victory  feasts  61 

night  there.  Outside  the  ranch  a  fire  is  made.  A  chonta  staff  is 
fixed  in  the  ground  close  by  the  fire.  The  priest  gives  the  slayer 
juice  of  tobacco  through  the  nose,  then  grasps  his  hand  and  makes 
him  hang  the  tsantsa  on  the  top  of  the  chonta  staff.  With  the  aid 
of  the  priest,  he  places  three  small  round  stones,  provided  for  the 
purpose,  upon  the  fire  to  be  heated.  When  they  are  sufficiently  hot, 
the  slayer,  whose  hand  is  held  by  the  priest,  takes  up  one  of  them 
by  means  of  a  stick  cleft  at  the  end,  and  drops  it  into  the  head 
through  the  opening  at  the  neck,  holding  the  trophy  with  the  left 
hand.  The  small  stone  is  allowed  to  roll  to  and  fro  in  the  head  for 
a  moment;  then  the  slayer  takes  it  out  and  puts  it  back  on  the  fire. 
The  priest  again  gives  him  juice  of  tobacco,  whereupon  the  same 
procedure  is  repeated  with  the  second  stone,  and  lastly  with  the  third 
one.  Every  time  that  the  slayer  puts  a  stone  into  the  head  the  priest 
is  holding  his  hand,  and  each  stone,  after  being  used  in  the  way  de¬ 
scribed,  is  again  put  on  the  fire,  where  the  stones  are  ultimately  left. 
The  trophy  is  again  hung  on  the  top  of  the  chonta  staff.  The  priest 
grasps  the  slayer  by  the  wrist  and  makes  him  touch  the  hair  of  the 
tsantsa  with  his  hand,  at  the  same  time  saying,  “  Kakdruma,  pangi 
ishamakaipa ” — “Have  courage;  do  not  fear  the  great  serpent.” 
The  trophy  is  subsequently  taken  back  to  the  house  by  the  other  men, 
but  the  slayer  and  the  priest  remain  in  the  ranch. 

As  we  find,  the  same  ceremony  is  repeated  here  as  was  earlier  per¬ 
formed  with  the  trophy  previous  to  beginning  the  work  of  prepar¬ 
ing  it.  The  procedure  with  the  small  heated  stones  seems  to  be 
merely  to  mortify  the  soul  of  the  enemy,  attached  to  the  head,  to  pro¬ 
tect  the  slayer  against  the  revengeful  ghost,  and  favorably  to  prepare 
for  the  important  incident  which  will  take  place  on  the  following 
day — the  entrance  of  the  victor  into  the  house  of  the  feast. 

That  the  object  of  the  ceremony  described  is  essentially  to  par¬ 
alyze  the  danger  threatening  the  slayer  from  the  dead  enemy  may 
also  be  concluded  from  the  last  words  addressed  to  him  by  the  priest 
in  which  he  is  warned  not  to  fear  the  “  great  serpent.”  The  great 
boa  serpent  {pangi)  is  the  most  formidable  of  all  demons  who  people 
the  spiritual  world  of  the  Jibaros.  He  is  the  original  father  of  witch¬ 
craft;  it  is  from  his  body  that  the  sorcerers  receive  the  poison  with 
which  their  organism  is  impregnated  and  the  invisible  arrow  {tuncki) , 
which  they  discharge  against  their  victims.  After  death  the  souls  of 
the  medicine  men  are  also  believed  to  enter  into  the  boa.  The  Jibaros, 
like  all  Indians,  therefore  particularly  fear  this  monster,  and  when 
they  kill  a  boa  they  think  that  they  kill  a  powerful  sorcerer.  From 
the  above  statement  it  appears  that  the  giant  serpent  also  is  one  of 
those  shapes  in  which  the  spirit  of  the  killed  enemy  is  believed  to 
meet  the  slayer. 


62 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  70 


The  First  Day  of  the  Feast:  Tjtsandowai,  “The  Feast  is  Opened” 

(PI- 7) 

Those  guests  who  have  come  from  far  arrive  at  the  house  of  the 
feast  on  the  eve  of  the  day  fixed  for  the  same.  They  do  not,  how¬ 
ever,  enter  the  house,  but  pass  the  night  in  provisional  ranches  made 
outside.  It  is  not  until  the  following  morning  at  5  o’clock  that  the 
doors  are  opened  and  the  guests  can  enter.  By  and  by  the  guests 
who  live  near  arrive.  Before  entering  the  house  all  arrange  their 
dress,  which  the  Jibaro  Indian  always  does  when  he  is  about  to  make 
a  visit  in  another  house.  In  a  sort  of  net  bag  (shigi'a) ,  carried  on 
the  back,  the  men  have  brought  with  them  their  best  clothing  and 
ornaments,  first  of  all  a  new  loin  cloth  ( itipi ).  In  another  smaller 
bag  they  carry  a  comb,  a  small  mirror,  a  small  round  gourd  contain¬ 
ing  a  red  dye  for  painting  the  body,  called  viushpa  or  aratinyu , 
as  Avell  as  certain  other  small  things.  At  a  rivulet  the  Indian  makes 
his  toilet ;  he  unties  his  thick  hair,  washes  it,  combs  it,  and  ties  it  up 
again  in  the  three  usual  pigtails.  The  band  with  which  the  big 
pigtail  at  the  neck  is  wound  around  is  adorned  with  toucan  feathers 
and  human  hair.  On  his  head  he  places  some  feather  ornament,  a 
crown  made  of  red  and  yellow  toucan  feathers,  called  tawasa ,  or 
another  ornament  of  yellow  macaw  feathers,  which  is  tied  round  the 
head,  and  is  called  tendearma.  Older  warriors  are  often  seen  wear¬ 
ing  a  sort  of  cap  of  monkey’s  skin  or  an  ornament  made  of  squirrels’ 
tails  (kunambi) .  The  face,  and  especially  the  region  around  the  eyes, 
is  painted  red  in  different  ways,  some  Indians  simply  coating  the 
face  with  the  paint,  others  applying  geometrical  patterns  to  it.  A 
new  loin  cloth  ( itipi )  is  always  put  on  before  entering  the  house,  a 
girdle  of  human  hair  ( akachu )  being  used  to  fix  it  with.  Some  addi¬ 
tional  ornaments  are  put  on  later  for  the  dance  at  night. 

The  .women  always  pay  less  attention  to  their  dress  and  wear 
fewer  ornaments  than  the  men.  The  principal  garment  of  the 
women  is  called  tardchi ,  and  a  new  one  is  as  a  rule  made  for  a 
feast.  Since  weaving  is  an  industry  exclusively  incumbent  on  the 
men,  these  always  make  the  clothes  of  their  wives.  On  the  crown 
of  the  head  the  women  on  festive  occasions  generally  wear  a  red- 
painted  cotton  band,  called  tiriangsa.  In  the  ear  lobes  they  wear 
similar  sticks  ( arusa )  as  do  the  men,  but  much  smaller,  and  besides, 
in.  the  lower  lip  a  small  pin  of  wood  which  is  called  tukunu.  Both 
the  arusa  and  the  tukunu  are  mostly  ornamented  with  incised  fig¬ 
ures. 

For  the  dances  the  women  also  paint  their  faces,  although  not 
as  much  as  the  men.  Around  their  necks  the  women  wear  a  neck¬ 
lace  of  beads  called  shauka ,  and  the  upper  arms  are  tied  around 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY  BULLETIN  79  PLATE  7 


THE  VICTOR,  CARRYING  THE  TSANTSA  ON  THE  BREAST,  MAKES  HIS  FIRST  ENTRANCE 

INTO  THE  HOUSE 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY  BULLETIN  79  PLATE  8 


.  The  arriving  guest  is  entertained  with  manioc  beer  by  the  wife  of  the  host  b.  Arrangements  for  the  washing  of  the  tsantsa 


karsten]  blood  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS  63 

with  cotton  strings  called  pataki .  For  the  dances  they  always  put 
on  a  broad  girdle  or  rattle  of  snail  shells  (kungu)  ;  but  these  rattles 
are  not  ornaments  but  a  means  of  conjuration. 

When  the  guests  enter  the  house  they  are  received  by  the  hosts— 
the  father,  brothers,  or  sons  of  the  slayer — with  a  ceremonial 
greeting  (pi.  8,  a).  The  men  generally  enter  three  or  four  at  a 
time.  Each  of  them  utters  a  loud:  “  Winyahei ,”  “I  come,”  where¬ 
upon  all  arrange  themselves  in  a  row  close  to  the  door,  with  their 
lances  stretched  forth,  and  remain  motionless  until  they  are  spoken 
to  by  the  hosts.  Some  of  the  boys  in  the  house  step  forward  and 
hand  a  small  round  chair  ( kutanga )  to  each  of  the  guests,  who  now 
take  a  seat,  but  still  without  uttering  a  word,  and  holding  their 
lances  between  their  knees.  The  hosts,  having  arranged  their  dress 
and  painted  their  faces,  take  their  seats,  each  sitting  in  front  of  the 
guest  to  whom  he  is  going  to  speak,  and  only  utter  the  word 
“ winiti”  “may  you  come.”  This  is  the  signal  to  the  guest  that  he 
may  start  speaking.  He  mentions  that  he  has  been  invited  to  the 
feast,  that  he  has  accepted  the  invitation  and  arrived  to  honor  the 
victor,  etc.  The  conversation  mostly  turns  about  the  feast,  the 
preparations  made  for  it,  the  number  of  swine  bred  for  the  same, 
the  number  of  guests  invited,  etc.  The  host  and  the  guest  speak  m 
turns,  but  they  do  not  speak  in  an  ordinary  conversational  tone,  but 
shout,  and  the  words  follow  so  quickly  upon  each  other  that  to  an 
outsider  it  is  almost  impossible  to  understand  what  they  sa}^. 
Each  conversation  lasts  for  about  10  minutes,  and  each  guest  has 
to  be  spoken  to  separately  by  some  one  of  the  hosts.  During  the 
conversation  manioc  beer  is  repeatedly  served  to  the  guests  by  the 
women  in  the  house.  Each  guest  has  to  empty  at  least  three  dishes 
(pining a)  of  this  drink.  After  this  ceremonial  reception  the  guests 
may  step  forth  from  the  door  and  move  about  in  the  house  at  lib¬ 
erty;  and  other  guests  arriving  are  received  in  the  same  manner. 

Only  the  men  are  received  in  this  ceremonial  way.  The  women, 
following  their  husbands,  fathers,  or  brothers,  enter  without  any 
form  of  salutation  and  are  not  particularly  spoken  to  by  the  hosts. 

All  the  guests  having  arrived  and  been  properly  received  by  the 
hosts,  preparations  are  immediately  made  for  receiving  the  victor 
himself,  whose  solemn  entrance  now  takes  place. 

Some  of  the  oldest  warriors  take  the  trophy,  which  has  been  kept 
hanging  in  the  smoke  over  the  fire,  place  it  on  a  shield  and  carry 
it  to  the  ranch  outside  of  the  house,  where  the  slayer  and  the  priest 
have  passed  the  third  night.  Here,  in  part,  the  same  ceremony  is 
repeated  as  took  place  on  the  previous  day.  The  tsantsa  is  placed  on 
the  top  o¥  a  chonta  stick  fixed  in  the  ground.  The  priest  gives  the 
slayer  juice  of  tobacco  and  helps  him  to  hang  the  trophy  on  himself, 


64 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  7ft 


over  the  breast.  The  priest  takes  his  stand  immediately  behind  the 
slayer,  and  behind  them  the  other  warriors  range  themselves  in  a 
row,  armed  with  lances,  shields,  and  firearms.  All  proceed,  slowly 
and  ceremoniously,  toward  the  house,  the  priest  holding  his  hand 
upon  the  shoulder  of  the  slayer.  In  front  of  the  latter  another  old 
Indian  goes,  holding  the  chonta  stick  in  his  hand.  He  fixes  the  stick 
in  the  ground  a  few  steps  in  advance  of  the  slayer.  As  soon  as  the 
latter,  walking  slowly,  has  reached  the  chonta  stick  the  old  man 
removes  it,  and  again  fixes  it  in  the  ground  some  steps  in  front  of 
the  slayer,  and  so  on  until  they  reach  the  door  of  the  house.  Dur¬ 
ing  this  march  the  slayer  repeatedly  receives  juice  of  tobacco  through 
the  nose,  administered  by  the  priest.  At  the  door  the  procession 
stops.  The  slayer  takes  off  his  old  loin  cloth  and  puts  on  a  new 
one  which  is  held  ready.  Then,  with  the  aid  of  the  priest,  he  takes 
off  the  trophy,  which  is  tied  to  a  chonta  lance.  The  priest  takes 
the  lance,  with  the  trophy  tied  to  it,  quickly  passes  it  in  through 
the  door,  takes  it  out  again,  and  again  passes  it  inside,  fixing  it  firmly 
in  the  ground  close  to  the  door. 

Meanwhile  the  other  men  and  the  women  arrange  themselves  to 
receive  the  victor,  whose  entrance  into  the  house  takes  place  under 
the  same  ceremonial  conditions  as  at  the  feast  numbuimartinyu. 
Now,  just  as  on  that  occasion,  the  dance  ihiambrama  is  performed, 
the  wife  and  daughter  of  the  slayer  playing  the  principal  part  among 
the  women.  The  women  appear  from  the  interior  of  the  house,  ar¬ 
ranged  in  a  row,  holding  each  other  by  the  hands,  with  rattles  of 
snail  shells  around  their  waists.  Foremost  of  the  women  are  the 
wife  and  daughter  of  the  slayer.  On  each  side  of  them  the  men 
stand  in  two  rows. 

Immediately  before  the  dance  ihiambrama  takes  place,  two  war¬ 
riors  rush  into  the  house  from  outside,  between  the  rows,  brandish¬ 
ing  lances  and  shields  and  giving  war  cries  as  if  they  were  charg¬ 
ing  against  an  enemy.  They  are  followed  by  a  third  warrior  bran¬ 
dishing  a  rifle,  with  which  he  fires  a  shot  in  the  air.  These  war¬ 
riors  are  preparing  the  way  for  the  victor.  The  latter  now  receives 
juice  of  tobacco  from  the  priest  through  the  nose,  and  his  wife  and 
daughter  receive  it  through  the  mouth.  The  daughter  then  seizes 
the  slayer  from  behind  at  the  waist  with  both  hands,  while  his  wife, 
heading  the  rest  of  the  women,  gives  him  her  right  hand.  All  now 
dance  into  the  interior  of  the  house  to  the  accompaniment  of  rat¬ 
tles,  drums,  and  flutes,  and  immediately  return  to  the  door.  The 
same  maneuver  is  repeated  twice  more,  but  the  second  and  third 
times  the  slayer  holds  the  tsantsa  in  his  right  hand,  with  his  arm 
stretched  out,  while  proceeding  with  the  women  into  the  interior 
of  the  house.  The  dance  ihiambrama  is  thus  repeated  three  times, 
just  as  at  the  previous  minor  feasts. 


karsten]  blood  revenge,  war,  and  victory  feasts  65 

The  tsantsa  is  again  tied  to  a  chonta  lance  and  the  latter  is  fixed 
in  the  ground  at  the  door,  the  usual  way  of  keeping  the  trophy  when 
it  is  not  needed  for  the  ceremonies. 

All  the  ceremonies  described  have  one  and  the  same  object:  To 
protect  the  victor  against  the  spirit  of  his  enemy.  Within  the  house 
those  conjurations  will  take  place  through  which  the  wakdni  is 
trodden  under  foot,  mortified,  and  completely  made  the  slave  of 
his  conqueror.  The  first  entrance  into  the  house  is,  therefore,  be¬ 
lieved  to  be  particularly  critical  for  the  latter.  When  the  victor 
approaches  the  house  the  spirit  is  believed  to  meet  him  in  the 
invisible  shape  of  a  man  trying  to  kill  him.  Juice  of  tobacco  is 
repeatedly  given  him  to  increase  his  power  of  resistance  against  the 
machinations  of  the  invisible  enemy.  The  chonta  staff  fixed  in  the 
ground  in  front  of  the  slayer,  when  he  approaches  the  house,  has  for 
its  object  to  prevent  the  wakdni  from  meeting  him.  The  three 
warriors,  who,  previous  to  the  dance  ihidmbrama ,  rushed  into  the 
house  brandishing  their  weapons  and  shooting,  likewise  were  try¬ 
ing  to  keep  off  this  enemy  and  inspire  him  with  terror,  for  the 
lance  and  the  shield,  and  still  more  shots  from  firearms,  are  feared 
even  by  the  spirits.  Lastly,  the  object  of  the  whole  dance  ihidm¬ 
brama ,  as  we  have  seen  before,  is  to  secure  the  victor’s  first  entrance 
into  the  house. 

The  ceremonies  at  the  “  entrance  ”  of  the  victor  may  vary  some¬ 
what  in  certain  details.  Thus  at  another  tsantsa  feast  the  proceed¬ 
ings  were  as  follows :  Some  of  the  older  warriors  took  the  tsantsa , 
placed  it  on  a  shield,  and  carried  it  with  caution  to  the  ranch  out¬ 
side  the  house,  where  the  slayer  and  the  priest  had  passed  the  third 
night.  The  shield,  with  the  tsantsa ,  was  set  down  on  the  ground, 
and  all  warriors  started  to  dance  around  it,  making  menacing 
gestures  against  it  with  their  lances.  Thereafter  the  slayer,  followed 
by  the  other  warriors,  began  slowly  to  move  toward  the  house.  The 
priest  placed  the  shield,  with  the  tsantsa ,  on  the  ground  a  few  steps 
in  front  of  the  slayer.  As  soon  as  the  latter  had  reached  the  shield, 
the  priest  again  moved  it  a  short  distance  from  him  on  the  ground, 
and  so  on  until  they  reached  the  door  of  the  house.  Here  the  slayer 
exchanged  his  old  loin  cloth  for  a  new  one.  The  priest  made  him 
touch  the  tsantsa  with  his  mouth  and  helped  him  to  hang  it  around 
his  neck.  Thereupon,  the  dance  ihidmbrama  took  place  in  the  way 
described  above. 

With  these  introductory  ceremonies  the  official  part  of  the  morn¬ 
ing’s  program  is  finished.  A  general  drinking  bout  now  commences, 
manioc  beer  being  brought  in  large  piningas  to  each  of  the  guests 
by  the  women.  Food  is  also  offered  them,  consisting  of  boiled 
manioc  and  boiled  ripe  bananas,  as  well  as  of  meat — game  and  fish. 


66 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  70 


Those  persons  who  have  played  some  particularly  important  part  at 
the  ceremonies  are,  however,  obliged  to  fast.  This,  of  course,  first 
of  all  applies  to  the  slayer  himself,  his  wife,  and  daughter,  who,  as 
mentioned  before,  have  to  abstain  from  every  kind  of  meat  and  are 
only  allowed  to  eat  certain  fruits.  The  priest  ( whuea ),  who  as¬ 
sists  them,  both  now  and  during  the  following  days  must  abstain 
from  eating  swine’s  flesh.  His  most  important  duty  is  to  prepare 
tobacco  juice,  mixed  with  saliva,  which  medicine  he  has  continually 
to  give  to  the  slayer,  as  well  as  to  his  wife  and  daughter.  Should 
he  touch  swine’s  flesh,  which  the  persons  mentioned  are  strictly  pro¬ 
hibited  from  eating,  the  tobacco  which  he  gives  them  would  become 
polluted  and  made  ineffective.  Likewise  the  priestess  ( ohdha ),  who 
conducts  the  ceremonies  of  the  women,  is  prohibited  from  tasting 
pork.  Like  the  priest,  she,  during  the  feast,  mainly  eats  chicken, 
together  with  manioc  and  other  fruits.  The  two  warriors,  who, 
previous  to  the  dance  ihidmbrama ,  rushed  into  the  house  with  lances 
and  shields,  and  the  third  warrior,  who  followed  them,  firing  a  shot 
into  the  air,  are  also  obliged  to  fast  on  that  day  on  account  of  their 
having  taken  part  in  an  important  ceremony  of  conjuration.  Thus 
they  are  allowed  to  drink  only  a  small  quantity  of  manioc  beer, 
which  is  served  to  them  in  small  clay  dishes  specifically  made  for 
the  purpose. 

Later  in  the  forenoon  the  preparation  of  the  manioc  wine,  which 
was  begun  three  days  ago,  is  continued.  The  roasted  manioc,  which 
was  then  hung  up  in  the  three  baskets,  filled  and  arranged  with  so 
much  care,  is  now  supposed  to  have  properly  ripened.  The  slayer, 
accompanied  by  the  priest  and  other  men,  goes  to  the  shelter  where 
the  baskets  had  been  hung  up.  The  slayer,  with  the  aid  of  the  priest, 
takes  down  the  baskets  one  after  the  other  and  starts  to  open  them, 
proceeding  with  the  utmost  care  and  being  always  assisted  by  the  old 
man.  The  slayer  and  the  priest  both  taste  the  fruit  in  each  basket 
to  convince  themselves  of  its  having  acquired  the  necessary  virtue 
for  the  preparation  of  the  wine.  The  women  start  to  masticate  the 
roasted  fruit  in  the  same  way  as  the  boiled  manioc  is  masticated  for 
brewing  ordinary  manioc  beer.  A  part  of  the  fruit  masticated  is 
then  separated  from  the  rest  for  the  purpose  of  preparing  a  special 
manioc  substance  from  it  by  means  of  fermenting  it.  Of  this  sub¬ 
stance  a  kind  of  manioc  beer  will  be  brewed,  to  be  drunk  after  the 
most  important  ceremony  of  the  feast,  the  washing  of  the  tsantsa , 
two  days  later.  Again,  of  the  rest  of  the  fruit  masticated  the  proper 
manioc  wine  ( sangucha  shiki ),  to  be  consumed  on  the  last  day  of  the 
feast,  is  prepared  in  the  following  way : 

A  clay  pot  is  placed  on  the  ground,  and  the  slayer  and  his  wife  and 
daughter,  as  well  as  the  priest,  take  their  stand  in  front  of  it.  On  a 


karsten] 


BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS 


67 


banana  leaf  a  number  of  wooden  pins  have  been  laid,  provided  from 
the  twigs  of  a  special  wild  tree  which  the  Jibaros  call  shuya  and 
which  produces  a  sweet  black  fruit  similar  to  grapes.  On  another 
banana  leaf  there  have  been  laid  some  leaves  of  another  forest  tree 
called  opcvi.  The  slayer,  whose  hand  is  held  by  the  priest,  takes  one 
of  the  shuya  pins  and  slowly  and  carefully  places  it  inside  the  pot — 
about  in  the  middle  of  it — in  a  horizontal  position.  His  wife  and 
daughter,  whose  hands  are  likewise  held  by  the  priest,  also  put  one 
pin  each  in  the  pot  beside  the  first  one.  Another  man  completes  the 
work,  putting  without  ceremony  some  other  similar  pins  into  the  pot 
until  such  have  been  laid  along  its  whole  breadth,  with  a  distance  of 
about  half  an  inch  between  each.  Now  the  slayer,  with  the  aid  of 
the  priest,  takes  an  apai  leaf  and  cautiously  places  it  across  the  shuya 
pins.  The  wife  and  the  daughter  do  the  same,  each  laying  down 
one  apai  leaf  in  the  pot  at  the  side  of  the  first  one.  Several  more 
apai  leaves  are  laid  down,  until  the  shuya  pins  are  completely  cov¬ 
ered  with  them.  Lastly,  these  leaves  are  perforated  all  over  with  a 
wooden  pin,  so  that  the  whole  thing  becomes  like  a  sieve. 

The  masticated  manioc  substance  is  now  laid  in  the  pot  upon  the 
leaves.  The  slayer  and  his  wife  and  daughter  again  begin  the  work, 
each  of  them  laying  down,  with  the  aid  of  the  priest,  a  small  quantity 
of  the  substance.  The  pot  is  wholly  filled  with  it,  and  the  mouth  is 
covered  at  first  with  some  apai  leaves  and  then  with  some  large 
kachini  leaves,  the  whole  thing  being  lastly  carefully  tied  over  with 
lianas.  The  slayer,  with  the  aid  of  the  priest,  now  places  the  pot 
upon  the  shelter  mentioned  before,  where  it  is  left  for  two  days  and 
two  nights.  During  this  time  the  essence  in  the  masticated  manioc 
substance  will  be  distilled  and  drop  into  the  lower  empty  part  of  the 
pot.  This  essence  is  the  manioc  wine. 

In  the  afternoon,  at  about  4  o’clock,  two  swine  and  some  chickens 
are  slaughtered  to  provide  food  for  the  guests  during  the  two  follow¬ 
ing  days.  The  proper  ceremonial  slaughter  does  not  take  place  until 
the  penultimate  day  of  the  feast.  The  flesh  of  the  swine  now  killed, 
however,  can  not  be  cooked  until  midnight,  or  about  1  o’clock  on  the 
following  morning,  and  will  be  eaten  early  on  the  following  day. 

When  darkness  sets  in,  or  about  6  o’clock,  the  general  feast  dance 
begins,  which  is  called  hantsemata.  All  take  part  in  it,  both  hosts 
and  guests,  men  and  women ;  first  of  all,  however,  the  latter.  The 
slayer  himself  goes  around  and  invites  the  guests  to  take  part  in  the 
dance,  speaking  separately  to  each  of  them.  The  dance  is  conducted 
by  an  elderly  Indian  who  previously  gives  tobacco  water  to  the 
women.  All  who  are  going  to  take  part  in  it  are  dressed  in  the 
proper  way.  The  women,  as  usual,  wear  their  rattles  of  snail  shells 
around  the  waist.  Some  of  the  men  put  on  additional  ornaments  for 


68 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


f  BULL.  79 


the  dance — first  of  all  a  back  ornament  made  of  the  bones  of  the  bird 
tayu  (Steatornis) ,  called  tayukunchi ,  which  is  adorned  with  human 
hair,  toucan  feathers,  or  small  stuffed  birds  of  the  forest  with  bril¬ 
liant  plumes. 

The  face  and  the  uncovered  paid  of  the  body  is  carefully  painted 
with  red  ochre  ( Bixa  orellana ),  animal  figures,  and  figures  of  snakes 
as  well  as  geometric  ornaments  being  the  most  common  patterns. 
The  older  men  prefer  to  paint  themselves  black  in  the  face  with 
genipa.  Some  younger  men  are  seen  painting  themselves,  previous 
to  the  dance,  with  juice  of  tobacco,  making  with  their  fingers  cer¬ 
tain  linear  ornaments  upon  the  face  and  breast — ornaments  which, 
however,  are  hardly  visible  upon  the  brownish  skin  of  the  Indians. 
The  body  painting  with  tobacco  juice  is  supposed  to  be  a  good  prophy¬ 
lactic  against  witchcraft. 

The  hantsemdta ,  which  literally  means:  u  The  killing  of  the  ene¬ 
my’s  soul  ( hantsa ),”  is  a  ring  dance.  The  dancers  hold  each  other  by 
the  hands  and  circle  around  the  three  central  pillars  of  the  house, 
forming  a  large  ring,  or  rather  an  elliptical  figure,  and  moving  alter¬ 
nately  to  the  right  and  to  the  left.  The  women  at  first  arrange  them¬ 
selves  for  the  dance,  and  foremost  among  them  are  the  wife  and 
daughter  of  the  slayer.  Then  follow  the  men,  and  foremost  among 
them  the  slayer,  who  thus  during  the  dance  is  standing  nearest  to  his 
wife  and  daughter.  He  carries  the  tsantsa  hanging  on  his  back  dur¬ 
ing  the  whole  time.  Next  to  him  the  other  men  take  their  stand.  At 
the  dance  the  Indians  move  about  in  the  same  way  as  in  the  dance 
ihidmbrama ,  hopping  side  foremost,  moving  first  the  one  and  then 
the  other  foot  in  quick  time.  The  women  hold  each  other  under  the 
arms,  hopping  with  both  feet  at  once  in  order  that  their  rattles  may 
sound  more  loudly.  Having  moved  round  for  a  while  to  the  right, 
the  Indians  change  and  dance  to  the  left  for  a  while,  and  vice  versa. 
The  dance  is  accompanied  by  a  chant  or  conjuration,  and  this,  too,  is 
first  performed  by  the  women.  This  chant  principally  consists  in  an 
almost  monotonous  refrain,  “  on,  on,  on,  on,”  etc.,  which  is  sung  by  the 
women  in  a  deep  and  strong  guttural  voice,  so  that  the  whole  song 
gives  a  disagreeable,  almost  dismal,  howling  effect.  When  the  dance 
reaches  its  climax  the  men  also  chant  or  shout,  and  the  dancers  seem 
sometimes  almost  to  reach  a  state  of  ecstasy.  Each  time  the  men, 
during  the  dance,  reach  one  of  the  doors  at  either  end  of  the  house, 
they  stop  for  a  moment,  hop  up  and  down  on  the  spot,  stamping  on 
the  ground  and  shouting  in  a  loud  voice :  “  Ilysti ,  hysti ,  hysti , 

hysti !  ”  At  the  same  time  the  women  hop  on  the  spot,  sounding  their 
rattles,  while  the  drums  are  beaten  and  the  flutes  played.  This  pro¬ 
cedure  is  repeated  for  a  long  time.  The  dancers  through  this  action 
are  trying  to  keep  off  the  spirit  of  the  killed  enemy,  who,  it  is  be¬ 
lieved,  is  trying  to  enter  through  one  of  the  doors  to  kill  the  victor. 


karsten] 


BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS 


69 


During  the  dance  certain  words  and  phrases,  adapted  for  the  occa¬ 
sion,  are  also  pronounced.  Thus  the  name  of  the  killed  enemy  is  again 
and  again  mentioned,  as  are  also  the  names  of  his  relatives  and  the 
name  of  his  native  place.  Similarly  details  of  the  war  and  of  the 
battle,  the  lance  with  which  the  enemy  was  killed,  or  the  knife  with 
which  his  head  was  cut  off,  and  even  the  canoe  in  which  the  victors 
went  down,  etc.,  are  repeatedly  mentioned.  This  dance,  with  short 
intervals,  is  continued  until  dawn.  The  men,  however,  do  not  take 
part  in  the  dance  the  whole  time,  but  sometimes  leave  the  women 
alone.  The  latter,  who  are  headed  by  the  priestess,  and  among  whom 
the  wife  and  daughter  of  the  slayer  are  the  most  active,  first  of  all 
have  to  attend  to  the  dance.  The  slayer  himself  also  dances  nearly 
the  whole  time,  with  the  tsantsa  hanging  on  his  back.  He  is  not  al¬ 
lowed  to  sleep  during  the  night. 

Whereas  even  young  girls  of  8  or  10  years  of  age  take  part  in  the 
general  dance,  the  half-grown  boys  seem  to  be  excluded  from  it.  These 
have  another  task  confided  to  them.  When  the  older  men  and  women 
arrange  themselves  for  the  dance,  the  boys  are  placed  within  the 
ring,  and  when  the  dance  commences  they  engage  in  a  savage  wres¬ 
tling  match,  continually  throwing  each  other  to  the  ground,  again 
rising,  again  wrestling,  etc.  This  wrestling  is  continued  for  about  an 
hour  in  the  same  violent  manner,  but  is  not  repeated  later  during 
the  night.  As  to  the  significance  of  this  wrestling,  the  Indians  only 
gave  the  explanation  that  it  is  “  part  of  the  feast.”  The  boys,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  had  previously  been  instructed  by  an  older  Indian. 
The  wrestling  thus  is  of  a  ceremonial  nature,  and  forms  part  of  the 
general  conjurations. 

The  dance  hantsemdta  is  continued  without  interruption  until 
about  1  o’clock,  when  there  is  a  short  interval.  The  flesh  of  the 
swine  slaughtered  in  the  afternoon  of  the  day  before  has  now  to  be 
cooked.  According  to  the  ritual  of  the  feast,  as  already  mentioned, 
the  flesh  of  the  swine  slaughtered  at  the  feast  can  only  be  cooked  at 
midnight.  On  several  large  fires,  made  in  different  parts  of  the 
house,  large  clay  pots  are  placed,  which  are  filled  with  the  flesh 
cut  into  pieces.  During  the  preparations  for  the  cooking,  and  while 
the  flesh  is  being  boiled,  the  dance  hantsemdta  is  continued  with  more 
vigor  than  before,  all  men  and  women  who  are  not  tending  the  fires 
being  engaged  in  it.  Likewise  some  chickens  are  killed  and  their 
flesh  is  boiled.  The  Indian  who  conducts  the  dance  is  seen  dancing 
for  a  while  with  two  or  three  recently  killed  chickens  tied  round 
his  waist.  The  dance  is  supposed  to  hurry  on  the  cooking  of  the 
flesh,  and  probably  also  to  exert  a  favorable  influence  upon  the 
augmentation  of  the  domestic  animals  in  future.  As  soon  as  the 
flesh  is  sufficiently  cooked  the  pots  are  taken  off  the  fires  and  lifted 


70 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


up  on  the  shelves  to  be  preserved  until  morning.  It  is  not  until 
then  that  the  flesh  can  be  eaten. 

The  dance  is  then  continued  without  interruption  until  the  morn¬ 
ing,  being  attended  to  particularly  by  the  women.  About  half  past 
5,  or  a  little  before  dawn,  all  the  men  and  women  have  to  take  part 
in  it  just  as  in  the  beginning.  Having  moved  several  times  around 
the  central  pillars,  all  rush  out  from  the  house,  continuing  to  hold 
each  other  by  the  hands,  and  run  down  to  the  river,  where  they 
take  the  usual  bath.  With  this  bath  the  ceremonies  of  that  night 
are  finished. 

Tiie  Second  Day  of  the  Feast:  Natema  Umartinyu,  “The 

Drinking  of  the  Natema  ” 

At  about  8  o’clock  the  principal  ceremony  of  the  second  day,  the 
drinking  of  the  sacred  drink  natema ,  takes  place.  This  important 
narcotic  is  prepared  from  a  vine  specially  cultivated  by  the  Jibaros, 
the  scientific  name  of  which  is  Banisteria  caapi  (of  the  MaJpig- 
hiaceae  family).  When  the  drink  is  prepared  for  the  feast  the  slayer 
himself  has  to  assist  in  order  to  transfer  to  it  the  supernatural  power 
with  which  he  is  believed  to  be  invested. 

For  the  preparation  of  the  natema  some  pieces  of  the  stem  of  the 
vine  are  cut  off,  crushed  with  clubs,  and  parted  into  thinner  fibers, 
which,  are  boiled  in  water  for  a  couple  of  hours.  The  fibers  are  then 
taken  out  and  the  drink  is  ready.  The  natema  drink,  which  has  the 
effect  of  producing  in  the  drinker  peculiar  visions  and  hallucinations 
which  are  ascribed  by  the  Indians  to  certain  spirits,  is  generally 
mixed  with  some  tobacco  water,  through  which  its  narcotic  effects 
are  increased.  At  the  tsantsa  feast  the  second  clay  is  regularly  des- 
tined  for  the  drinking  of  the  natema ,  and  it  is  prepared  and  drunk 
with  certain  ceremonies,  which  have  now  to  be  described. 

Some  pieces  of  the  stem  of  the  natema  plant  are  laid  on  a  banana 
leaf  on  the  ground.  Upon  another  banana  leaf  a  larger  and  a  smaller 
wooden  club  are  laid,  and  with  these  the  natema  stems  are  to  be 
crushed.  There  is  besides  a  pot  in  which  the  drink  will  be  cooked. 
The  priest  as  usual  gives  the  slayer  tobacco  juice  through  the  nose. 
Then  he  grasps  him  by  the  wrist  and  makes  him  seize  a  club  with  his 
right  hand  and  a  natema  stem  with  his  left  and  crush  the  stem,  lay¬ 
ing  it  upon  the  other  tree  club.  The  slayer  divides  the  stem  into 
three  or  four  fibers  and  puts  them  down  into  the  pot,  the  priest 
holding  his  hand.  Another  Indian  without  ceremony  crushes  some 
other  pieces  of  the  natema  stem  and  arranges  them  in  a  ring  within 
the  pot.  The  slayer,  whose  hand  is  held  by  the  priest,  now  pours  some 


karsten]  BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS  71 

water  into  the  pot  from  a  water  bottle  and  places  the  pot  on  the 
fire,  some  other  men  attending  to  the  pot  while  it  boils. 

At  another  fire  close  by  tobacco  is  simultaneously  being  boiled, 
to  be  mixed  with  the  natema.  A  small  clay  pot  is  placed  by  the 
fire,  and  some  leaves  of  tobacco  are  laid  on  a  banana  leaf  at  the  side 
of  it.  The  slayer,  whose  hand  is  held  by  the  priest,  takes  a  tobacco 
leaf  and  carefully  puts  it,  first,  on  the  edge  of  the  pot  and  then  into  it. 
The  wife  of  the  slayer  repeats  the  process  with  another  leaf,  laying 
it  at  first  on  the  edge  of  the  pot  and  then  inside  it.  Lastly,  a  third 
leaf  of  tobacco  is  in  the  same  way  put  into  the  pot  by  the  daughter 
of  the  slayer.  Thereupon  the  slayer,  assisted  by  the  priest,  pours 
some  water  into  the  pot  and  places  it  on  the  fire. 

On  the  spot  where  the  natema  is  cooked  there  is  also  placed  a 
piece  of  the  stem  of  the  manioc  plant  and  two  narrow  strips  of  the 
bark  of  a  tree  which  the  Jibaros  call  samiki.  The  slayer  takes  one 
of  the  strips,  winds  it  round  his  index  finger,  and  ties  it  into  a  ring 
of  the  same  size  as  the  finger.  By  means  of  one  end  of  the  strip, 
which  after  the  tying  of  the  ring  has  been  left  free,  he  then  attaches 
the  ring  to  the  piece  of  the  manioc  stem.  Thereupon  he  in  the 
same  way  makes  another  ring  of  the  other  strip,  giving  it  the  size  of 
his  index  finger,  and  attaches  it  to  the  manioc  stem  at  the  side  of  the 
first  ring.  With  the  aid  of  the  priest  he  ultimately  places  the  manioc 
stem,  with  the  two  rings  attached  to  it,  upon  the  tobacco  pot  boiling 
on  the  fire  in  such  a  way  that  it  rests  upon  the  edges  of  the  pot. 

The  object  of  this  ceremony  is  to  establish  a  mysterious  connection 
between  the  slayer,  who,  as  we  have  seen,  is  supposed  to  be  filled 
with  supernatural  power,  the  tobacco  water  to  be  mixed  in  the 
natema  drink,  and  the  manioc  plant  which  the  persons  drinking  of 
the  narcotic  will  see  in  the  dream.  The  two  rings  formed  of  the 
rind  of  the  samiki  tree  will  in  this  connection  serve  as  mediums  for 
the  transference  of  the  power.  The  Jibaros  ascribe  magical  virtues 
to  the  samiki  tree  itself,  and  a  little  of  its  bark  is  generally  mixed 
with  the  natema  with  a  view  to  increasing  the  efficacy  of  the  drink. 
The  hasten  strips  of  the  tree  having  been  formed  into  rings  of  the 
same  size  as  the  slayer’s  finger,  are  believed  to  catch  his  power,  and 
thus  to  transfer  it  to  the  manioc  and  the  boiling  tobacco  pot.  The 
persons  partaking  of  the  s&cred  drink  are  afterwards,  in  the  narcotic 
sleep,  supposed  to  see,  among  other  things,  the  manioc  fields  of  the 
slayer  in  a  flourishing  state  and  bearing  a  rich  crop  of  fruit. 

At  the  tsantsa  feast  the  natema  is  only  boiled  for  about  one  hour, 
whereupon  the  pot  is  taken  off  the  fire.  Similarly  the  smaller  pot  in 
which  tobacco  has  been  cooked  is  taken  away,  the  manioc  stick  with 
the  hasten  rings  having  first  been  removed.  The  latter  is  fixed  in 


72 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


the  wall  close  to  the  door,  where  it  is  left  until  it  is  dry  and  half 
consumed,  being  then  thrown  away. 

The  slayer,  whose  hands  are  held  by  the  priest,  seizes  the  small 
tobacco  pot  and  pours  its  contents  into  the  natema  pot.  The  drink 
is  now  ready  to  be  consumed. 

In  the  drinking  of  the  natema  at  the  tsantsa  feast  both  men  and 
women,  even  half-grown  children,  take  part,  all  “  who  want  to 
dream  ”  being  allowed  to  drink  of  the  narcotic.  Even  the  slayer,  as 
well  as  his  wife  and  daughter,  drink  natema.  The  drinking  has 
throughout  a  ceremonial  character.  A  number  of  beautifully  orna¬ 
mented  clay  dishes  are  placed  on  the  ground  in  two  rows.  The  priest 
and  two  or  three  other  old  men  fill  them  with  natema  and  give  them 
over  to  the  persons  who  are  going  to  drink.  Before  they  give  the 
dish  to  a  man  or  woman  they  each  time  sing  a  long  conjuration  over 
it,  summoning  the  natema  spirits.  The  person  who  receives  the  dish 
quickly  empties  its  contents,  which  amount  to  a  little  more  than  half 
a  liter.  Immediately  thereafter  he  or  she  goes  out  and  throws  up 
the  quantity  drunk  (for  the  natema  at  first  has  the  effect  of  an 
emetic).  Then  the  person  again  enters  the  house,  again  empties  a 
pininga  of  natema ,  which  is  given  him  by  an  old  man  with  the  same 
ceremony  as  before,  and  immediately  again  throws  it  up.  The  same 
process  is  repeated  a  third  time.  Each  person  who  drinks  natema 
at  the  tsantsa  feast  thus  has  to  empty  three  dishes  of  the  sacred  drink. 

The  persons  who  drink  natema  have  not  previously  eaten  or  drunk 
anything,  and  afterwards  also  they  have  to  fast  strictly  until  they 
have  slept  and  dreamed.  The  majority  of  those  who  have  drunk  the 
narcotic  leave  the  house  and  go  out  to  sleep  in  some  ranches  of  palm 
leaves  made  in  the  forest  at  a  short  distance  from  the  house.  Most 
of  these  are  men,  but  at  least  one  of  them  ought  to  be  a  woman,  a 
female  relative  of  the  slayer.  The  slayer  and  his  wife  and  daughter, 
who  also  have  drunk  natema ,  do  not  leave  the  house,  but  have  their 
dreams  inside.  The  dreamers  remain  in  the  forest  sleeping  until  the 
afternoon.  Then  they  take  a  bath  in  the  river  and  return  to  the 
house,  where  they  tell  the  older  Indians  what  kind  of  dreams  and 
visions  they  have  had.  Now  they  are  also  allowed  to  break  their 
fast.  Their  food  consists  only  of  a  dish  of  boiled  and  mashed  manioc 
and  boiled  ripe  bananas.  The  dreamer  has  to  receive  the  dish  con¬ 
taining  this  food  from  the  hand  of  the  same  old  man  who  in  the 
morning  had  given  him  or  her  the  natema. 

The  object  of  the  drinking  of  the  natema  at  the  tsantsa  feast  is  to 
ascertain  whether  everything  will  turn  out  favorably  for  the  slayer 
in  the  future,  whether  he  will  have  a  long  life,  attain  to  material 
prosperity,  and  be  lucky  in  his  undertakings.  The  slayer,  as  well 
as  his  nearest  relatives  who  have  drunk  natema ,  will  see  in  the  dream 


karsten] 


BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS 


73 


his  house  surrounded  by  large  and  flourishing  plantations  of  manioc 
and  bananas;  they  will  see  his  domestic  animals,  his  swine,  and  his 
chickens,  numerous  and  fat,  etc.  But  at  the  same  time  the  persons  who 
have  drunk  the  sacred  drink  will  be  benefited  for  their  own  part 
also,  being  purified  from  impure  and  disease-bringing  matters,  and 
gaining  strength  and  ability  for  their  respective  works  and  occu¬ 
pations. 

The  drinking  of  the  natema  in  the  morning  is  as  usual  followed 
by  a  general  drinking  bout — in  which,  however,  those  persons  who 
have  drunk  natema  do  not  take  part — as  well  as  by  a  general  ban¬ 
quet,  at  which  the  flesh  of  the  swine  and  chickens  cooked  during  the 
night  is  eaten.  With  this  banquet  the  official  part  of  the  morning’s 
program  is  finished,  and  hosts  and  guests  may  pass  the  rest  of  the 
day  until  darkness  as  they  like. 

At  about  6  o’clock  in  the  evening  the  preparations  for  the  night’s 
dance  commence,  the  host  (i.  e.,  the  slayer)  again  going  rouncl  in 
the  house  and  inviting  the  guests  to  take  part  in  it.  All  having 
properly  dressed  themselves,  arranged  their  ornaments,  and  painted 
their  faces,  the  hantsemata  begins  and  is  continued  through  the  whole 
night  exactly  in  the  same  way  as  on  the  previous  night.  Even  the 
wrestling  of  the  boys  takes  place  for  a  while.  The  dance  is  continued 
until  about  half  past  5  in  the  morning,  being  as  usual  finished  off  by 
a  general  bath  in  the  river. 

The  Third  Day  or  the  Feast  :  Nihantsa  Nihartinyu,  u  The  Wash¬ 
ing  OF  THE  TsANTSA  ” 

Like  all  ceremonies  at  the  tsantsa  feast,  the  “  washing  of  the 
tsantsa  ”  commences  about  8  o’clock  in  the  morning,  or  about  two 
hours  after  the  dance  of  the  last  night  has  been  finished.  The  priest 
( whuea )  has  previously  been  engaged  in  preparing  juice  of  tobacco 
mixed  with  saliva,  by  carefully  chewing  the  leaves  and  spitting  out 
the  juice  into  the  small  clay  pot  (iiattipya) ,  from  which  he  will  ap¬ 
portion  it  out  to  the  persons  who  play  the  principal  parts  in  the 
ceremonies.  A  small  clay  pot  filled  Avith  water  has,  by  means  of 
some  strips  of  bast,  been  tied  to  one  of  the  chonta  pillars  in  the 
middle  of  the  house.  From  this  pot  the  priest  now  and  then  takes 
a  little  water  in  his  mouth  while  cheA\dng  the  tobacco  leaves.  The 
priest  having  in  this  way  provided  a  sufficient  quantity  of  tobacco 
juice  in  his  nattipya ,  the  preparations  for  the  ceremony,  “the  AA^ash- 
ing  of  the  tsantsa ,”  begin. 

The  principal  persons  of  the  feast,  the  slayer,  his  Avife  and  daugh¬ 
ter,  the  priest,  and  a  medicine  man,  assemble  at  a  spot  in  the  middle  of 
the  house.  The  women  arrange  themselves  around  them,  forming 
a  ring  or  semicircle,  all  having  their  rattles  around  their  waists  and 
2119°— 23 - 6 


74 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


being  headed  by  the  priestess  (ohdha).  The  latter  on  this  occasion 
wears  a  feather  ornament  on  her  head,  which  normally  are  never 
worn  by  the  women,  and  also  a  kind  of  black  collar  prepared  from 
the  bark  of  a  certain  tree  which  the  Jibaros  call  viupish.  This  col¬ 
lar,  to  which  the  Jibaros  ascribe  some  magical  power,  is  hung  round 
the  neck  of  the  priestess  by  the  priest  before  the  ceremony  commences. 

Outside  the  ring  of  the  women,  moreover,  four  warriors,  armed 
with  lances  and  shields,  take  their  stand.  The  role  which  they  have 
to  play  is  presently  to  be  described.  The  first  thing  to  be  done  is  to 
provide  seats  for  the  persons  mentioned — the  slayer,  his  wife  and 
daughter,  as  well  as  the  priest  and  the  medicine  man — and  this  is 
done  in  a  ceremonial  way.  The  wife  of  the  slayer  grasps  her  hus¬ 
band  with  one  hand  and  the  priest  with  the  other  hand  from  behind 
at  the  waist,  and  all  three  go  and  fetch  the  seat  of  the  slayer,  which 
has  been  placed  near  the  wall  a  few  steps  from  where  the  ceremony 
will  take  place.  The  slayer,  both  of  whose  hands  are  held  by  the 
priest,  bends  down,  grasps  the  seat,  passes  his  hand  round  its  edges, 
lifts  it  up  a  little,  immediately  sets  it  down  again,  lifts  it  up  a  second 
time  and,  accompanied  by  the  priest,  who  continues  holding  his 
hands,  and  by  his  wife,  who  holds  both  men  from  behind  at  the 
waist,  carries  it  to  the  spot  from  which  they  had  started.  Here  the 
seat  is  ceremonially  laid  down  on  the  earth,  the  slayer  with  the 
aid  of  the  priest  setting  it  down,  again  lifting  it  up  and  the  second 
time  setting  it  down.  Now  the  seat  has  been  firmly  placed,  and 
must  not  be  touched  by  anybody  until  the  slayer  seats  himself  upon 
it.  During  these  operations,  both  when  the  seat  was  taken  up  and 
when  it  was  placed  upon  the  spot  where  the  ceremony  is  to  take 
place,  the  women  have  been  dancing  around  the  slayer  and  his  wife 
and  the  priest,  incessantly  repeating,  in  slow  time  and  almost 
monotonously,  the  refrain:  u CKimbuyirumba-yamdyumba ,  chivi- 
buyirumbd-yamdyumba  .  .  .”  etc.,  i.  e.,  “Take  up  the  seat, 

set  down  the  seat,  .  .  .”  etc.  Thereupon  the  slayer,  his  wife, 

and  the  priest  go  and  fetch  another  seat  upon  which  the  priest  will 
sit  during  the  ceremony;  and  this  is  done  in  the  same  way  as  the 
first  time,  the  women  dancing  and  singing  their  “  Chimb uyirumbd- 
yamdyumba  ”  when  the  seat  is  being  lifted  up  from  the  ground,  and 
when  it  is  placed  on  the  spot  where  the  priest  will  sit.  The  slayer's 
and  the  priest’s  seats  are  placed  opposite  each  other.  Three  more 
seats  are  subsequently  brought  for  the  medicine  man  and  for  the 
wife  and  daughter  of  the  slayer. 

The  slayer  and  the  priest,  accompanied  by  the  slayer’s  wife,  who 
holds  both  men  from  behind  at  the  waist  as  before,  now  go  and 
fetch  a  shield  which  had  previously  been  placed  by  the  door,  and 
which  will  serve  as  a  table  at  the  ceremony.  The  shield  is  placed 
on  the  ground  between  the  seats.  At  last  the  same  persons  go  and 


KARSTEN] 


BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS 


75 


take  the  tsantsa ,  which  as  usual  has  been  kept  tied  to  a  lance  stuck 
into  the  ground  at  the  door.  The  tsantsa  is  carefully  placed  upon 
the  shield.  On  the  latter  are  also  laid  the  small  pot  containing 
juice  of  tobacco  and  a  knife. 

The  slayer  and  the  priest  now  prepare  to  sit  down,  each  taking  his 
stand  in  front  of  the  seat  intended  for  him.  The  priest  lays  his 
hands  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  slayer  and  makes  him  sit  down  on  the 
seat,  immediately  raise  himself,  and  again  definitively  sit  down. 
Thereafter  the  slayer  repeats  the  same  with  the  priest,  laying  his 
hands  upon  his  shoulders,  making  him  quickly  sit  down,  immediately 
raise  himself,  and  again  sit  down.  Both  men  now  remain  sitting 
opposite  each  other.  Also,  the  three  other  persons  take  their  seats, 
without  ceremony,  the  slayer  having  the  medicine  man  sitting  on  his 
right  hand  and  his  wife  and  daughter  on  his  left. 

The  priest  gives  juice  of  tobacco  to  the  slayer  through  the  nose  and 
to  his  wife  and  daughter  through  the  mouth,  then  to  the  medicine  man 
through  the  nose,  and  finally  he  himself  also  takes  some.  The  medi¬ 
cine  man  is  now  the  principal  person  acting.  Taking  the  tsantsa  and 
the  knife,  he  takes  some  juice  of  tobacco  with  the  point  of  the  latter 
and  coats  the  tsantsa  with  it  at  the  neck  opening.  He  makes  a 
cutting  motion  around  the  neck  of  the  head  with  the  knife  as  if  he 
were  cutting  it  off.  Then  he  carefully  loosens  the  cotton  string  at¬ 
tached  to  the  three  chonta  pins,  which  have  been  stuck  through  the 
lips  of  the  head  (cf.  p.  31),  and  lastly  removes  the  chonta  pins 
themselves,  one  after  the  other,  putting  them  down  on  the  shield. 
Finally  he  gives  juice  of  tobacco  to  the  slayer  and  hangs  the  trophy 
around  his  neck. 

While  the  medicine  man  has  been  engaged  in  these  actions,  the 
women,  headed  by  the  priestess,  have  been  dancing  around  him  and 
the  other  persons  sitting  around  the  shield,  singing  at  every  im¬ 
portant  moment  of  his  operations,  in  the  same  slow,  solemn  time  as 
before,  the  refrains:  “  Chimbuyirumba-yamayumbd-pakeketa-koko- 
keho-shimbagasme-mishahose-odod-.  .  .,”  etc. 

Thus,  when  the  medicine  man  seizes  the  trophy,  when  he  makes 
the  cutting  motion  around  its  neck  with  his  knife,  when  he  removes 
the  cotton  string  and  the  chonta  pins,  and,  lastly,  when  he  hangs  the 
trophy  around  the  neck  of  the  slayer,  the  women  accompany  all  these 
actions  by  dancing,  singing  the  refrains  mentioned,  and  shaking 
their  rattles.  Again,  the  four  warriors  armed  with  lances  and 
shields  at  the  same  time  accompany  the  operations  of  the  medicine 
man  in  another  way:  At  each  of  the  critical  moments  just  mentioned 
they  hold  the  shield,  extended  in  a  horizontal  position,  with  the  left 
hand,  and  with  their  lances  give  it  from  below  three  or  four  powerful 
resounding  strokes.  This  ceremony  is  called  yaktinyu . 


76 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  70 


The  removal  of  the  aforesaid  ornaments — the  cotton  string  and 
the  chonta  pins — has  been  necessary  for  the  washing  of  the  tsantsa , 
a  ceremony  which  will  take  place  outside  the  house.  The  slayer 
has  to  march  out  to  the  place  destined  for  it,  performing  together 
with  the  women  the  same  dance,  ihidmbrama ,  which  we  kno.w  as  one 
of  the  principal  ceremonies  from  the  first  day  of  the  feast.  The 
women  arrange  themselves  in  a  long  column,  the  wife  and  daughter 
of  the  slayer  as  usual  taking  the  foremost  place.  The  slayer  places 
himself  at  the  head  of  them,  grasping  his  wife  with  his  left  hand 
and  the  tsantsa  with  his  right,  and  holding  his  arm  stretched  out. 
On  both  sides  of  them  the  men  range  themselves  in  two  rows.  A 
sign  having  been  given,  the  slayer,  followed  by  the  women,  proceeds 
dancing  to  the  door  of  the  house,  again  returns  to  the  interior,  and 
again  proceeds  dancing  to  the  door,  where  he  stops.  He  goes  out, 
with  the  aid  of  the  priest  hangs  the  trophy  around  his  neck,  and  con¬ 
tinues  a  few  steps  toward  the  place  chosen  for  the  washing  ceremony. 

The  slayer  now  takes  a  seat,  placed  on  the  ground  for  his  use 
(pi.  8,  b).  On  another  seat  his  wife  seats  herself,  and  on  a  third  his 
daughter.  The  priest  and  the  medicine  man  take  their  stand  close  to 
them.  Around  these  persons  the  women  form  into  a  ring,  grasping 
each  other  by  the  hands.  The  four  warriors  who  had  performed  the 
ceremony  yaktinyu  within  the  house  also  take  up  positions  ready  for 
fresh  action.  The  priest  gives  juice  of  tobacco  to  the  slayer  and  the 
two  women,  a  procedure  that  is  repeated  three  or  four  times  during 
the  following  ceremonies,  so  that  the  said  persons  at  last  become 
narcotized,  grow  pale,  and  begin  to  tremble  throughout  their  whole 
bodies,  •  It  is  considered  necessary  that  they  should  be  brought  to  such 
a  state,  since  thus  they  are  supposed  to  gain  power  of  resistance 
against  the  angry  spirit  during  the  important  action  which  will  now 
take  place,  namely,  the  washing  of  the  tsantsa. 

The  medicine  man  fixes  a  chonta  stick  in  the  ground  in  front  of 
the  slaver.  The  latter  takes  off  the  tsantsa  from  his  neck  and  Avith 
the  aid  of  the  priest  places  it  on  the  top  of  the  stick.  Close  to  the 
stick  a  clay  pot,  a  round  gourd  containing  water,  and  a  piece  of  the 
root  of  a  liana  called  sikimuro  are  placed  on  a  banana  leaf.  The 
medicine  man  who  will  conduct  the  washing  ceremonies  receives  the 
siMmuro  root  from  the  wife  of  the  slayer,  who  has  kept  it  at  her 
bosom  under  her  tarachi.  When  the  root  is  cut  in  pieces  and  rubbed 
in  water  it  produces  a  white  soaplike  foam.  It  is  with  this  soap 
that  the  tsantsa  will  be  washed. 

The  medicine  man  cuts  the  sikimuro  root  into  smaller  pieces. 
Then  the  priest  gives  juice  of  tobacco  to  the  slayer,  grasps  him  by 
the  wrists,  and  makes  him  pour  some  water  into  the  clay  pot  from 
the  water  bottle.  Thereupon  the  priest  makes  the  slayer  take  up 
some  pieces  of  the  sikimuro  root  and  put  them  into  the  pot.  Now 


karsten] 


blood  revenge,  war,  and  victory  feasts 


77 


the  trophy  itself  has  to  be  laid  down  in  this  solution.  The  priest 
again  grasps  the  slayer  by  the  right  hand  and  makes  him  take  up 
a  little  water  from  the  pot,  with  which  he  wets  the  tsantsa.  The 
same  operation  is  immediately  repeated;  but  now  the  slayer  also 
takes  up  a  small  sikimuro  piece  from  the  pot  and  touches  the  hair  of 
the  trophy  with  it.  Finally  the  slayer  cautiously  puts  the  trophy 
itself  down  into  the  pot,  his  right  hand  then  being  held  by  the  priest 
and  his  left  hand  by  the  medicine  man. 

The  trophy  having  been  laid  down  in  the  sikimuro  solution  with 
these  ceremonies,  the  washing  itself  is  performed  by  the  medicine 
man  (pi.  9,  a).  He  rubs  the  hair  with  the  sikimuro  pieces  and 
washes  it  with  the  soap  produced  by  them.  Having  carefully  soaked 
the  trophy  in  the  solution,  he  takes  it  up  from  the  pot,  places  it  on 
the  top  of  the  chonta  stick,  and  continues  washing  it.  Thereupon  he 
begins  to  make  it  dry,  shaking  off  the  water  from  it,  beating  his 
arms  with  the  hair,  and  dr}dng  it  with  his  clothes.  Finally  he  combs 
the  tsantsa ,  receiving  a  special  comb  from  the  daughter  of  the 
slayer,  who  has  kept  it  at  her  bosom  in  the  same  way  as  the  wife  of 
the  slayer  had  kept  the  sikimuro  root.  The  hair  having  been  ar¬ 
ranged  and  combed  properly,  the  trophy  is  again  hung  on  the  top 
of  the  chonta  stick,  where  it  is  left  for  a  while  so  as  to  get  perfectly 
*  dry.  The  medicine  man  grasps  the  hand  of  the  slayer  and  makes 
him  touch  the  hair  of  the  tsantsa;  then  he  likewise  grasps  the  hands 
of  his  wife  and  daughter  and  makes  them  gently  touch  the  trophy. 

While  all  these  operations  have  been  performed  the  women,  led 
by  the  priestess,  have  again  formed  a  circle  around  the  principal 
persons,  accompanying  each  of  the  most  important  actions — when 
the  tsantsa  was  first  touched  by  the  sikimuro  solution,  when  it  was 
laid  in  the  pot,  when  it  was  washed  and  combed,  etc. — by  dancing, 
chanting,  and  shaking  their  rattles  (pi.  9,  6).  The  refrains,  slowly 
and  monotonously  sung  by  the  women,  are  much  the  same  as  were 
before  sung  in  the  house : 

“  Ochoyirumba  -  yamdyumba  -  pakeketa  -  kokokeho  -  shimbdgasme  - 
mishahose-oaoa  .  .  .  etc. 

The  operations  of  the  medicine  man  have  also  been  accompanied 
by  the  four  warriors  armed  with  shields  and  lances,  who  at  the 
critical  moments  have  been  striking  their  shields  performing  the 
yaktinyu. 

The  washing  of  the  tsantsa  having  been  accomplished,  the  sikimuro 
solution  is  disposed  of  in  the  following  way :  The  medicine  man 
seizes  the  pot  with  both  hands  and  pours  out  the  majority  of  its 
contents,  as  well  as  the  foam  produced  by  the  root,  on  the  earth. 
The  rest  of  the  warriors  start  to  strike  the  running  water  and  foam 
furiously  with  their  lances.  The  remainder  of  the  solution,  as  well  as 
the  clay  pot  itself,  is  thrown  away  into  the  forest. 


78 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


The  men  now  make  themselves  ready  to  march  back  into  the 
house.  The  slayer  receives  juice  of  tobacco  from  the  priest.  Then 
he,  with  the  aid  of  the  latter,  takes  the  trophy  hanging  on  the 
chonta  stick  and  hangs  it  over  his  breast.  Behind  the  slayer  the 
other  men,  as  usual,  arrange  themselves  in  a  long  column,  all  armed 
with  their  lances  and  guns.  The  priest  takes  his  stand  behind  the 
slayer,  holding  his  hand  upon  his  shoulder.  Some  other  older  war¬ 
riors  also  place  themselves  at  the  side  or  in  front  of  the  slayer, 
one  of  them  holding  the  small  pot  containing  juice  of  tobacco,  of 
which  a  dose  is  repeatedly  given  the  slayer.  The  women  have  pre¬ 
viously  returned  to  the  house  and  made  themselves  ready  to  receive 
the  slayer. 

The  procession  now  starts  to  move  forward,  the  slayer  walk¬ 
ing  slowly  and  solemnly,  followed  by  the  other  warriors,  con¬ 
tinually  striking  the  hair  of  the  trophy  with  his  hands.  An  old 
warrior  goes  in  front  of  him,  holding  the  comb,  with  which  the 
trophy  had  been  combed  after  washing,  before  him.  The  comb,  by 
having  been  in  contact  with  the  victim’s  hair,  is  charged  with  spir¬ 
itual  energy,  and  is  therefore  supposed  to  possess  the  power  of  keep¬ 
ing  off  the  spirit  of  the  slain  enemy,  which  according  to  the  belief 
of  the  Indians  is  coming  to  meet  the  slayer  when  he  approaches  the 
house,  trying  to  kill  him. 

The  slayer  stops  at  the  door  of  the  house.  The  priest  helps  him  to 
take  off  the  trophy,  ties  it  to  a  lance  which  he  quickly  passes  in 
through  the  door,  again  takes  out,  and  passes  in  once  more,  where¬ 
upon  he  fixes  the  lance  in  the  ground  at  the  door  inside.  Within  the 
house,  meanwhile,  the  women  have  arranged  themselves  for  the  dance 
ihiambrama ,  which  the  slayer  again  has  to  perform  with  the  women 
in  the  way  described  before.  ■* 

After  the  dance  the  priest  takes  the  slayer  around  inside  the  house 
to  manifest  that  he  can  move  about  in  it  without  danger. 

The  object  of  this  ceremony,  the  u  washing  of  the  tsantsa ,”  is  to 
“  wash  off  ”  the  malignity  still  maintained  by  the  spirit  of  the  slain 
enemy,  and  definitely  to  make  it  the  slave  and  will-less  instrument 
of  the  victor.  This  effect  is  first  of  all  supposed  to  be  brought  about 
by  the  sikimuro  solution,  owing  to  the  magical  properties  ascribed  to 
the  sikimuro  root  itself. 

Again,  the  object  of  the  dancing  and  chanting  of  the  women  while 
the  washing  of  the  trophy  takes  place,  as  well  as  of  the  ceremony 
yaktinyu  performed  by  the  four  warriors,  is  partly  to  keep  off  the 
malicious  spirit,  who  is  being  mortified  and  definitely  enslaved 
through  the  washing  ceremony  and  is  more  eagerly  than  ever  trying 
to  revenge  himself,  partly  to  give  more  emphasis  to  the  ceremony 
itself.  The  refrains  ochoyiruviba-yamdyumbd ,  etc.,  belong  to  an 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY  BULLETIN  79  PLATE  9 


.  The  “washing  of  the  tsantsa.”  b.  The  women  dance  around  (he  men  while  the  tsantsa  is  being  washed 


BULLETIN  79  PLATE  10 


i 


.  Jibaro  man  and  woman  in  dancing  dress  b.  Dancing  Jibaro  man  and  woman 


karstbn]  blood  revenge,  war,  and  victory  feasts  79 

ancient  ceremonial  language,  and  their  exact  meaning  is  unknown  x 
even  to  the  Indians  themselves,  but  their  general  significance  is  clear. 
The  different  refrains  refer  to  different  details  of  the  ceremonies 
going  on  within  the  ring  of  the  dancing  women — when  the  slayer 
puts  the  tsantsa  on  the  top  of  the  chonta  stick,  when  he  wets  it  with 
the  magical  solution,  when  he  puts  it  into  that  solution,  when  the 
medicine  man  washes  it,  when  he  dries  it,  etc. — and  they  are  supposed 
to  give  more  emphasis  to  the  action  taking  place  for  the  moment. 
That  the  efficacy  of  an  action  is  enhanced  when  it  is  repeated  in  words 
is  an  idea  deeply  rooted  in  the  minds  of  the  Jibaros. 

After  the  introductory  dance  ihiambrama  has  taken  place,  and 
while  all  are  still  standing  in  the  rows  in  which  they  were  arranged 
for  this  dance,  manioc  beer  ( nihamdnchi )  has  to  be  ceremonially 
drunk.  This  is  not  a  manioc  beer  of  the  common  kind,  but  a  special 
beer  brewed  of  roasted  manioc  (see  p.  66),  which  is  supposed  to  have 
a  particular  efficacy.  In  front  of  the  men,  arranged  in  two  rows,  five 
women  take  their  stand,  each  holding  a  pininga  filled  with  the  manioc 
beer.  The  first  and  the  second  of  these  women  are  the  wife  and 
daughter  of  the  slayer.  The  slayer  himself  is  the  first  to  drink  of 
the  beer,  stepping  forth  to  the  women  and  taking  a  sip  from  the 
pininga  of  each  of  them.  Then  he  goes  back  to  the  other  men,  seizes 
the  priest  by  the  arm,  leads  him  forward  to  the  women,  and  makes 
him  in  the  same  way  drink  a  little  from  the  dish  of  each  woman, 
whereupon  he  follows  him  back  to  the  place  where  he  was  previously 
standing.  The  same  is  repeated  with  every  one  of  the  other  war¬ 
riors,  who  have  to  step  forward  and  drink  by  turns,  according  to 
age  and  dignity,  the  oldest  warriors  who  have  killed  many  enemies 
and  celebrated  many  tsantsa  feasts  going  first  and  the  younger  men 
afterwards.  Only  the  eldest  men  are  led  to  the  women  by  the  slayer, 
the  younger  men  stepping  forth  at  a  sign  given  by  him,  or  without 
a  sign,  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  arranged. 

With  the  drinking  of  the  nihamdnchi  the  day’s  official  ceremonies 
are  finished.  They  are  followed  by  the  usual  general  drinking  bout 
and  by  a  common  banquet.  The  principal  persons  of  the  feast  and 
other  men  or  women  who  have  taken  part  in  important  conjurations, 
however,  have  to  fast  as  before,  abstaining  particularly  from  eating 
pork.  The  four  warriors  who  had  performed  the  ceremony  yahtinyu 
with  their  shields  and  lances  are  not  allowed  to  drink  the  same  quan¬ 
tity  of  manioc  beer  as  the  other  men.  The  drink  is  served  them,  not 
in  the  usual  large  pining  as ,  but  in  the  small  clay  dishes  mentioned 
before.  These  dishes  are  placed  on  the  ground  in  a  row  and  filled 
with  beer,  and  the  four  warriors  take  their  stand  in  front  of  them, 
ranged  in  a  row.  A  sign  being  given  them,  they  suddenly  run  forth, 
all  at  the  same  time  seizing  their  piningas  and  quickly  emptying 


80 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


their  contents.  The  men  thus  quickly  and  simultaneously  drinking 
the  beer,  the  revengeful  spirit  is  believed  to  have  more  difficulty’in 
doing  harm  to  any  of  them. 

The  drinking  bout  is  continued  nearly  the  whole  day,  until  all,  both 
men  and  Avomen,  get  more  or  less  drunk.  In  the  same  degree  as  the 
drink  exerts  its  intoxicating  effects,  the  Indians  start  to  dance  singly, 
and  this  dance  goes  on  the  Avhole  forenoon.  At  first  the  priestess 
( ohctha )  dances  alone  with  the  tsantsa  hanging  on  her  back,  chanting 
a  sort  of  conjuration.  Generally,  however,  the  younger  Indians  ap¬ 
pear  in  couples,  one  man  and  one  woman  (pi.  10,  «),  the  Avife  and 
daughter  of  the  slayer  being  the  most  active  among  the  Avomen. 
The  dancing  couple  wear  the  usual  festival  dress,  the  woman  having 
her  rattle  of  snail  shells  round  the  Avaist,  and  the  man  his  drum, 
Avhich  he  beats  in  time  to  the  dance.  The  dance,  generally  speaking, 
consists  in  the  man  and  the  woman  alternately  moving  to  and  from 
each  other  in  sIoav,  solemn  time,  indicated  by  the  beats  of  the  drum, 
the  woman  simultaneously  chanting  a  song  (pi.  10,  b) .  At  the  same 
time  other  men  accompany  the  dance  by  beating  drums  or  playing 
flutes.  In  this  way  one  couple  after  the  other  makes  its  appearance  in 
the  course  of  the  day.  Besides  the  priestess,  other  Avomen  also  appear 
dancing  alone,  accompanying  themselves  Avith  a  chant  or  song.  These 
songs  generally  have  no  reference  to  the  feast,  but  the  Avomen  sing 
Avhatever  occurs  to  them  in  their  intoxicated  state.  Thus  it  is  com¬ 
mon  that  at  the  great  feasts  the  Avomen  address  their  songs  to  certain 
beautiful  birds  of  the  forest,  which  are  then  personified  and  spoken 
to.  Among  these  birds  the  toucan  (tsukanga) ,  the  cock  of  the  rock 
( sumga ),  the  paugi  ( maslxu ),  and  the  wild  turkey  (kuyu)  play  the 
principal  roles,  and  the  dancing  women  address  them,  giving  them  all 
sorts  of  pet  names,  praising  their  brilliant  plumage,  their  Avalk,  etc. 

The  Slaughter  of  the  Savine  :  Cue  hi  Aciiiktahei  Matinyu 

About  4  o’clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  the  important 
action  takes  place  Avhich  the  Jibaros  call  Cuchi  achihtahei  matinyu — 
“  the  slaughter  of  the  SAvine.” 

According  to  the  ritual  of  the  feast,  the  ceremonial  slaughtering 
of  the  swine  takes  place  during  the  night  preceding  the  last  day  of 
the  feast,  or  more  strictly  speaking  shortly  after  midnight,  “  when 
the  cocks  croAv  for  the  first  time,”  and  the  neAV  day  is  supposed  to 
begin.  This  hour  is  generally  about  1  o’clock  in  the  morning.  Since 
it  is,  hoAvever,  difficult  both  to  slaughter  a  number  of  SAvine  and  to 
cook  their  flesh  Avithin  a  short  time,  the  matter  is  mostly  prac¬ 
tically  arranged  so  that  the  slaughtering  of  the  animals  takes  place 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  day  before,  whereas  the  cooking  of  the  flesh 
is  done  at  midnight.  That  the  flesh  should  be  cooked  at  midnight 
is  considered  absolutely  necessary,  for  only  in  this  case  will  the  pur- 


karsten] 


BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS 


81 


pose  of  the  whole  slaughtering  ceremony,  the  plentiful  increase  of 
the  swine  for  the  future,  be  attained.  When  the  flesh  of  the  animals 
killed  is  cooked  early  in  the  morning,  at  the  first  beginning  of  the 
new  day,  this  will  have  as  its  consequence  that  henceforward  there 
will  be  plenty  of  swine’s  flesh  in  the  house  of  the  slayer.  The  same 
holds  good  of  the  chickens  which  are  likewise  slaughtered  and 
cooked  during  the  first  hours  of  the  new  day;  but  they  naturally 
are  of  less  importance  than  the  swine. 

As  has  been  mentioned  before,  the  swine  to  be  slaughtered  at  a 
feast  have  been  procured  long  before,  when  the  first  preparations 
for  the  feast  began;  and  they  are  bred  and  fed  with  special  care. 
The  victor  himself  has  supervised  the  rearing  of  these  animals,  giv¬ 
ing  the  attending  women  instructions  which  he  himself  has  received 
directly  from  the  wakdni ,  the  spirit  of  the  killed  enemy  materialized 
in  the  tsantsa ,  over  whom  he  has  acquired  complete  domination. 
The  number  of  the  swine  to  be  slaughtered  at  a  feast  is  not  exactly 
fixed  in  the  beginning.  Generally  a  few  more  are  procured  and 
bred  than  are  supposed  to  be  needed  for  the  purpose.  Moreover,  for 
the  propagation  of  the  race  it  is  necessary  that  at  least  a  couple 
should  be  left  alive.  When  the  time  for  the  great  feast  is  approach¬ 
ing,  the  victor  himself  decides  which  of  the  swine  are  to  be  slaugh¬ 
tered  and  in  what  order  it  should  be  done.  Even  with  regard  to 
these  details  he  receives  advice  directly  from  the  wakdni ,  when,  with 
the  tsantsa  hanging  around  his  neck,  he  goes  out  into  the  swine 
yard  and  “points  out”  the  animals  ( kuchi  aneikama).  These 
swine  having  been  slaughtered  in  due  order  and  their  flesh  consumed 
at  the  feast,  the  few  remaining  ones  will  increase  in  number  all  the 
more.  This  is  the  main  idea  which  the  Jibaros  connect  with  the 
ceremonial  slaughter  of  domestic  animals  at  their  feasts. 

For  a  feast  at  which  I  was  present  11  or  12  swine  had  been  bred, 
of  which  9  were  slaughtered,  2  during  the  first  day  of  the  feast  and 
7  on  the  day  of  the  proper  ceremonial  slaughter. 

According  to  the  ritual,  the  slaughtering  should  be  done  by  some 
of  the  invited  guests  specially  selected  for  this  purpose.  The  host 
or  his  household  must  not  touch  them  on  any  account,  for  then  the 
object  of  the  whole  ceremony  would  be  missed,  inasmuch  as  the  re¬ 
maining  swine  would  not  increase.  The  slaughter  takes  place  out¬ 
side  the  house,  but  the  animals  are  not  all  killed  on  the  same  spot, 
but  one  here  and  another  there,  close  to  the  different  walls  of  the 
house.  In  this  way  the  impression  is  produced  that  the  swine  killed 
and  eaten  at  the  feast  are  very  numerous,  and  the  effect  of  this  will 
be  that  they  will  really  be  numerous  in  future. 

The  animals,  according  to  an  old  Jibaro  custom,  are  killed  by 
strangulation,  without  the  effusion  of  blood.  A  rope  twisted  of 
lianas  is  tied  around  the  neck  of  the  swine,  and  a  strong  stick  is 


82 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


stuck  under  it,  the  strangulation  being  brought  about  by  twisting 
it.  As  the  animals  are  thus  killed  they  are  carried  into  the  house, 
where  some  pots  with  hot  water  stand  ready.  The  skin  is  scalded 
with  the  hot  water,  and  the  hair  is  scraped  off,  whereupon  the  stomach 
is  opened  and  the  flesh  cut  in  the  ordinary  way. 

Of  the  flesh  the  priest  and  priestess  receive  each  one  thigh  as  a 
part  of  the  payment  for  their  services  at  the  feast.  The  rest  of  it, 
with  the  exception  of  the  heads  and  the  bones,  is  kept  on  special 
shelves  until  midnight,  when  it  is  cooked.  The  heads  and  the  bones, 
again,  are  roasted  and  kept  until  the  day  of  the  departure  of  the 
guests,  being  then  divided  among  them. 

When  darkness  sets  in  the  dance  hantsemata ,  as  usual,  commences 
and  is  continued,  with  two  intervals,  until  dawn.  The  first  of  these 
intervals  occurs  at  about  10  o’clock  in  evening,  when  the  distilled 
manioc  wine  is  made  definitely  ready.  The  clay  pot  containing  the 
roasted  and  masticated  manioc  substance  which,  during  the  first  day 
of  the  feast,  had  been  arranged  for  the  distillation  of  the  drink 
is  moved  forward  and  placed  on  the  ground.  The  priest,  pro¬ 
ceeding  with  the  utmost  care,  removes  the  kachini  and  apai  leaves 
with  which  the  masticated  substance  had  been  covered.  Then  he 
removes  the  manioc  substance  itself  with  the  same  care,  laying  it 
in  another  vessel.  Finally,  in  the  same  way,  he  removes  the  apai 
leaves  which  had  been  laid  on  the  shuya  sticks  collected  in  the  pot, 
as  well  as  the  shuya  sticks  themselves,  which  together  with  the  leaves 
are  laid  on  a  special  large  leaf.  The  dark-brown  essence  which  has 
remained  in  the  bottom  of  the  pot  is  the  manioc  wine  ( sangucha 
shiki).  The  priest  asks  for  another  smaller  clay  pot  and  for  a  gourd, 
which  are  given  him  by  the  women.  Then  he  pours  the  whole  quan¬ 
tity  of  wine  into  the  new  clay  vessel,  and  also  a  little  into  the  gourd. 
The  gourd  is  then  placed  over  the  mouth  of  the  clay  pot  so  that  it 
covers  it,  and  the  gourd  is  covered  with  leaves;  the  whole  thing  is 
thereafter  kept  in  a  special  place  until  the  following  morning,  when 
the  drink  will  be  consumed. 

This  work  being  finished,  the  dance  hantsemata  is  continued  until 
about  1  o’clock  in  the  morning,  when  the  cocks  are  heard  crowing, 
and  the  host  declares  it  to  be  the  right  time  to  cook  the  flesh  of  the 
swine  slaughtered.  Various  fires  have  previously  been  kindled  in 
different  parts  of  the  house,  large  clay  pots  are  placed  upon  them, 
and  the  flesh  is  divided  up  among  the  pots.  At  the  same  time  a 
number  of  chickens  are  killed  by  wringing  their  necks;  these  are 
plucked  and  prepared  on  the  spot,  their  flesh  being  cooked  in  special 
pots.  While  the  cooking  goes  on  the  Indians  dance  the  hantsemata 
with  more  vigor  than  usual,  all  the  men  and  women  taking  part 
in  it.  After  the  flesh  is  boiled  the  pots  are  removed  from  the  fires. 


karsten]  BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS  83 

» 

put  aside,  and  kept  until  morning.  It  is  not  until  then  that  the  flesh 
cooked  can  be  eaten,  namely,  at  the  common  banquet  following  the 
last  ceremony  of  the  feast,  the  dressing  of  the  victor. 

The  dance,  as  usual,  is  continued  until  dawn,  when  it  is  finished 
with  the  customary  bath  in  the  river. 

The  Last  Day  of  the  Feast:  Nambera  Shiakma,  “The  Feast  is 

Concluded  ” 

About  8  o’clock  in  the  morning  the  last  great  ceremony  is  per¬ 
formed  with  the  slayer,  in  which  the  priest  dresses  him  in  a  festive 
dress,  makes  him  break  his  fast,  and  lastly  cuts  his  hair  and  paints 
his  body  black  with  genipa.  ' 

The  beginning  of  the  ceremony,  the  carrying  of  the  seats,  the  bring¬ 
ing  of  the  tsantsa  placed  on  a  shield,  etc.,  is  exactly  the  same  as  on 
the  previous  day  when  the  trophy  was  to  be  washed.  The  slayer 
and  the  priest,  accompanied  by  the  former’s  wife,  have  especially  to 
fetch  each  seat  upon  which  these  persons  will  sit  during  the  cere¬ 
mony,  a  special  seat  being  likewise  brought  for  the  medicine  man. 
The  priest  helps  the  slayer  to  seat  himself,  and  the  slayer  in  his  turn 
helps  the  priest.  Between  the  seats  the  shield  with  the  tsantsa  has 
been  placed.  Upon  the  shield,  besides,  all  those  articles  of  cloth¬ 
ing  and  ornaments  are  laid  with  which  the  slayer  himself  as  well  as 
his  wife  and  daughter  will  be  dressed.  These  articles,  as  far  as  the 
slayer  is  concerned,  are  the  following:  A  new  loin  cloth  ( itipi )  with 
a  girdle  of  human  hair  ( akdchu )  ;  a  broad  band,  the  ends  of  which 
are  adorned  with  toucan  feathers  and  human  hair,  called  itsimata , 
to  tie  round  the  great  pigtail  at  the  neck;  and  two  red-painted  cot¬ 
ton  strings  with  which  the  small  braids  at  the  temples  are  tied ;  a 
comb,  timashi ;  ear  sticks,  arusa ;  pendants  of  brilliant  beetle  wings 
to  attach  to  the  ear  lobes,  called  wauo;  a  crown  of  toucan  feathers 
for  the  head,  tawasa  ;  an  adornment  for  the  back,  made  of  the  leg 
bones  of  the  bird  tayu ,  called  tayukunchi.  Of  ornaments  carried 
by  the  women  the  following  are  laid  on  the  shield :  A  cotton  string 
which  the  women  tie  around  their  hair  for  the  feasts,  tiriangsa ;  the 
small  ear  sticks  of  the  women,  arusa;  the  wooden  pin  which  the 
women  carry  in  the  nether  lip,  tukunu;  a  collar  of  beads  worn 
around  the  neck,  shauka;  and  some  broad  cotton  bands  tied  around 
the  upper  arm,  patdki. 

Upon  the  shield,  moreover,  are  placed  the  small  pot  containing 
juice  of  tobacco,  a  small  gourd  containing  red  ochre  ( ipyc'tku ),  three 
twisted  cotton  strings,  painted  red  with  ochre,  which  are  to  be  at¬ 
tached  to  the  lips  of  the  tsantsa ,  and  a  knife. 

After  all  have  seated  themselves  the  priest  gives  juice  of  tobacco 
to  the  slayer,  to  his  wife  and  daughter,  as  well  as  to  the  medicine 


84 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


man,  and  lastly  partakes  of  it  himself.  The  medicine  man  takes  the 
knife  with  the  right  hand  and  the  tsantsa  with  the  left  and  takes 
some  juice  of  tobacco  with  the  point  of  the  knife  and  coats  the  tsantso. 
with  it  at  the  neck  opening.  After  this  he  cuts  off  a  strip  of  the 
skin  from  the  trophy,  removing  nearly  the  whole  part  which  formed 
the  neck.  This  strip  is  laid  down  on  the  shield.  Into  the  holes  in 
the  lips,  where  the  three  chonta  pins  had  been  stuck  before,  he  in¬ 
serts  the  three  cotton  strings,  which  are  thus  attached  to  the  lips. 
While  the  medicine  man  is  engaged  in  these  operations  the  women 
dance  round  him  and  the  other  persons  sit  at  the  shield  chant¬ 
ing  their  usual  incantations :  cMmbuyirunibd-yamdiyumbd ,  etc.  Like¬ 
wise  the  four  warriors  at  the  critical  moments  are  striking  their 
shields  with  the  lances,  performing  the  ceremony  yaktinyu. 

The  trophy  is  now  ready.  The  priest  thereafter  enters  in  action, 
his  first  task  being  to  dress  the  slaj^er.  The  priest,  as  usual,  gives 
him  juice  of  tobacco  through  the  nose  and  helps  him  to  hang  the 
tsantsa  upon  himself.  Formerly  it  was  customary  among  the 
Jibaros  for  the  victor,  before  he  took  on  the  trophy,  to  swallow  a 
small  piece  of  the  skin  which  the  medicine  man  had  cut  off  from  the 
neck  of  the  trophy,  “  in  order  to  manifest  that  he  was  eating  his 
enemy.”  This  custom  is  now  seldom  followed,  and  the  piece  of  skin 
is  generally  simply  thrown  away.  The  priest  thereupon  grasps  the 
victor  by  the  wrist,  makes  him  take  the  loin  cloth  and  the  girdle, 
blows  upon  these  pieces  of  clothing,  and  helps  him  to  dress  himself 
with  them.  The  victor’s  hair  is  arranged.  The  priest  helps  him  to 
comb  it  and  to  divide  it  into  three  pigtails — one  large  one  be¬ 
hind  and  two  smaller  ones  at  the  temples — which  are  customary 
among  the  Jibaros.  The  pigtails  are  tied  around  with  the  bands 
laid  on  the  shield  for  this  purpose.  Then  he  in  the  same  way  re¬ 
ceives  the  rest  of  the  ornaments,  the  feather  crown,  the  ear  sticks, 
etc.,  from  the  hands  of  the  priest,  who  blows  upon  each  article  before 
he  gives  it  to  the  victor.  Likewise  the  victor  paints  his  face  red  with 
ochre,  with  the  assistance  of  the  old  man. 

Even  the  wife  of  the  victor  is  ceremonially  dressed  by  the  priest, 
receiving  from  his  hand  the  female  ornaments  placed  on  the  shield. 

During  the  whole  of  this  dressing  ceremony  the  women,  conducted 
by  the  priestess,  have  been  dancing  and  chanting  around  the  princi¬ 
pal  persons  acting. 

The  next  thing  that  the  victor  as  well  as  his  wife  and  daughter 
have  to  do  is  to  break  the  fast.  In  the  women’s  quarters  different 
kinds  of  food  have  previously  been  prepared.  At  a  special  fire 
guayusa  has  been  cooked  in  a  small  pot.  As  soon  as  the  drink  is  ready 
the  priest  pours  a  little  of  it  into  a  gourd,  mutters  a  conjuration  over 
it  and  hands  it  to  the  victor,  who  washes  his  mouth  with  the  solution, 


karsten]  BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS  85 

spitting  it  out  thereafter.  The  priest  makes  the  wife  and  daughter 
wash  their  mouths  with  the  guayusa  in  the  same  way.  All  three  are 
now  properly  purified  to  receive  food. 

Different  kinds  of  food  are  brought  on  large  banana  leaves:  on 
one  leaf  there  is  some  swine’s  flesh,  fish,  and  manioc,  as  well  as  a  little 
salt  and  aji ,  or  Indian  pepper.  On  another  banana  leaf  an  entire 
boiled  liver  of  one  of  the  swine  slaughtered  has  been  placed.  The 
priest  gives  juice  of  tobacco  to  the  victor  through  the  nose  and  to 
his  wife  and  daughter  through  the  mouth.  Then  he  takes  cautiously, 
with  two  fingers,  a  small  piece  of  swine’s  flesh,  mutters  a  conjura¬ 
tion  over  it,  spits  upon  the  ground,  and  gives  the  piece  to  the  victor, 
who  swallows  it  without  touching  it  with  his  fingers.  The  latter 
subsequently  receives  from  the  hand  of  the  old  man  a  small  piece  of 
fish,  a  little  manioc,  as  well  as  a  pinch  of  salt  and  pepper.  Thereupon 
the  priest,  with  the  same  ceremonies,  gives  a  little  of  the  said  dishes 
to  the  wife  and  daughter  of  the  victor. 

In  return,  the  victor  gives  to  the  priest  the  swine’s  liver  placed  upon 
the  other  banana  leaf  “  as  a  tribute  of  gratitude  for  what  the  priest 
has  done  for  him  at  the  feast.”  He  handles  the  liver  as  carefully  as 
possible,  touching  it  merely  with  the  tips  of  his  fingers,  and  gives  it 
to  the  priest,  who  bites  off  a  mouthful  of  it.  The  rest  of  the  liver  is 
kept  by  the  priest,  who  takes  it  to  his  home. 

While  these  ceremonies  have  been  going  on  the  women,  headed  by 
the  priestess,  have  been  dancing  and  chanting  around  the  principal 
persons  in  the  way  described  before. 

The  victor  having  been  dressed  and  having  broken  his  fast,  the 
drinking  of  the  manioc  wine,  prepared  with  so  much  care,  takes 
place.  This  ceremony  is  performed  in  the  same  way  as  the  drinking 
of  the  manioc  beer  after  the  washing  of  the  trophy  on  the  previous 
day.  The  men  range  in  two  rows  from  the  door  inward,  standing 
according  to  age  and  dignity,  the  oldest  ones  nearest  to  the  door. 
The  wife  of  the  victor  takes  her  stand  in  front  of  them  in  the  middle 
of  the  house,  holding  the  pot  containing  the  wine  in  one  hand  and  a 
small  gourd  in  the  other.  The  victor  first  steps  forth  to  the  woman 
and  takes  a  draught  from  the  gourd  which  she  hands  him.  Then  he 
goes  back  and  fetches  the  priest  and  makes  him  drink  in  the  same 
way  from  the  gourd  which  the  woman  has  meanwhile  filled  with 
wine.  The  same  is  repeated  with  each  of  the  older  warriors,  who 
step  forth  by  turns.  After  them  the  younger  ones  follow.  However, 
according  to  the  ceremonial  only  the  older  warriors,  who  themselves 
have  killed  some  enemies  and  celebrated  a  victory  feast,  are  allowed 
really  to  drink  of  the  wine.  The  younger  men  certainly  step  forth 
to  the  woman,  but  onty  make  a  show  of  drinking  from  the  gourd 
she  holds  forth  and  in  reality  do  not  touch  it  with  their  lips.  They 


86 


BUREAU  OE  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


are  not  yet  considered  as  real  warriors,  because  they  have  not  killed 
an  enemy.  Similarly  no  one  of  the  women  drinks  of  the  liquor. 
What  is  left  of  the  manioc  wine  is  kept  by  the  priest  to  be  consumed 
after  the  meal  now  beginning. 

After  the  drinking  ceremony  just  described  the  general  banquet 
takes  place  at  which  the  flesh  of  the  swine  and  chickens  slaugh¬ 
tered  during  the  night  is  consumed.  This  banquet  has  the  same 
character  as  the  meal  taking  place  every  morning  after  the  principal 
ceremony  of  the  day.  However,  it  is  considered  essential  that  both 
the  guests  and  the  hosts  should  eat  much,  so  that  the  whole  supply  of 
meat  that  exists  is  consumed.  The  best  pieces  of  the  swine  and  the 
chicken  are  selected  for  the  victor.  The  meal  is  considered  ominous 
for  the  future.  Just  as  the  victor  now  eats  much  flesh  of  swine  and 
chicken,  so  there  will  not  in  future — thanks  to  the  mysterious  favor¬ 
able  influence  of  the  tsantsa — be  any  lack  of  such  food  in  his  house. 

After  the  banquet  the  priest  distributes  the  remainder  of  the 
manioc  wine  among  all  the  men,  even  the  younger  ones  being  now 
allowed  to  drink  until  the  whole  supply  is  exhausted. 

The  final  ceremony  still  remains  to  be  performed  with  the  victor, 
in  which  his  hair  is  cut  and  his  body  painted  black  with  genipa. 
The  priest  therein  acts  as  before.  Of  the  great  pigtail  which  the 
victor  wears  behind  he  cuts  off  only  the  last  ends,  but  the  smaller 
braids  at  the  temples  are  completely  removed.  The  hair  cut  off  is 
laid  on  the  shield  and  is  kept  by  the  victor.  The  hair  cut  on  cere¬ 
monial  occasions  is  used  by  the  Jibaros  for  the  preparation  of  the 
girdles  of  human  hair  which  are  worn  by  the  men. 

Thereupon  follows  the  painting  with  genipa.  A  small  pot  con¬ 
taining  the  genipa  solution  is  placed  on  the  shield.  The  priest  dips 
his  fingers  in  the  solution  and  coats  the  victor’s  whole  face  with  it, 
drawing  broad  strokes  along  his  breast  and  stomach,  his  back,  arms, 
and  legs.  At  this  ceremony  also  the  choir  of  the  women,  conducted 
by  the  priestess,  assists. 

Having  finished  these  operations  the  priest  addresses  the  men  stand¬ 
ing  around  him  in  much  the  following  words :  “  I  have  completed  my 
task  as  a  whuea  at  this  feast.  What  I  have  done  now  you  may  also 
do  later  when  you  grow  old.” 

The  rest  of  the  day  is  passed  in  the  same  way  as  during  the  previous 
days  of  the  feast,  drinking  bouts  being  held  and  solo  dances  being 
performed,  in  which  the  men  and  the  women,  as  usual,  make  their 
appearance  by  pairs.  Now  just  as  before  the  women  generally  ac¬ 
company  their  dance  with  a  sort  of  incantation. 

When  darkness  sets  in  the  last  night’s  general  dance  commences, 
which  is  continued  until  dawn,  when  it  is  finished  with  the  usual 
bath  in  the  river. 


K AUSTEN] 


BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  FEASTS 


87 


Early  in  the  morning  a  small  drinking  bout  is  held,  whereupon 
the  guests  make  themselves  ready  to  depart  and  start  to  take  leave 
of  the  hosts.  The  leave-taking  has  the  same  ceremonial  character 
as  the  salutation  at  the  arrival,  each  of  the  male  guests  addressing 
the  victor  and  his  relatives  in  a  sort  of  speech.  The  words  uttered, 
of  course,  have  reference  to  the  feast  just  finished:  the  splendid  ar¬ 
rangements,  the  entertainment,  the  harmony  prevailing,  etc.,  are 
eulogized,  and  the  guest  in  his  turn  invites  the  hosts  to  a  visit.  After 
this  farewell  ceremony,  which  lasts  a  long  time,  the  men  march  off, 
accompanied  by  their  wives  and  daughters. 

After  the  great  victory  feast  the  Jibaro  warrior  generally  under¬ 
takes  a  small  journey,  lasting  a  few  days,  just  as  he  did  after  the 
previous  smaller  feasts.  On  this  occasion  he  retires  to  the  forest, 
where  he  stays  alone,  taking  tobacco  water,  bathing  every  day  in  the 
waterfall,  and  sleeping  at  night  in  a  small  “  dreaming  hut.”  As  soon 
as  the  black  body  painting  has  disappeared  he  returns  home,  where 
he  finally  drinks  of  the  narcotic  maikoa  in  order  to  see  whether  there 
are  still  enemies  threatening  him  and  whether  everything  will  turn 
out  happily  for  him  in  the  future. 

Concluding  Remarks  on  the  Tsantsa  Feast 

If  we  analyze  the  numerous  ceremonies  described  above  we  find 
that  all  of  them  are  founded  upon  certain  fundamental  ideas:  (1) 
That  in  the  trophy  ( tsantsa )  the  spirit  or  soul  of  the  killed  enemy 
is  seated;  (2)  that  the  spirit,  attached  to  the  head,  is  thirsting  for 
revenge  and  is  trying  to  harm  the  slayer  in  every  possible  way;  (3) 
that  in  case  this  danger  is  paralyzed  through  the  different  rites  of 
the  feast,  the  trophy  is  changed  into  a  “  fetish,”  a  thing  charged  with 
supernatural  power  which  the  victor  may  make  use  of  in  different 
ways  and  in  different  departments  of  life. 

The  idea  that  the  soul  or  vital  power  of  a  person  is  concentrated  in 
his  head,  and  particularly  in  his  hair,  seems  to  be  common  to  all 
lower  peoples  in  the  whole  world  and  gives  the  explanation  not  only 
of  a  number  of  peculiar  hair  customs  but  first  of  all  of  the  practice, 
existing  among  some  savage  tribes,  of  taking  the  scalps  of  slain 
enemies  or  preparing  their  heads  as  “  trophies.”  At  any  rate  the 
use  which  the  Jibaros  make  of  the  heads  of  their  enemies  and  the 
ceremonies  which  they  perform  with  them  are  throughout  founded 
upon  this  idea. 

Again,  the  idea  that  the  spirit  of  a  murdered  man  is  taken  by  de¬ 
sire  for  revenge  and  that  his  revengeful  attitude  first  of  all  is  directed 
against  the  slayer  is  also  quite  natural  and  universally  met  with  in 
the  lower  culture.  In  regard  to  the  Jibaros,  the  interest  is  especially 
attached  to  the  childish  and  naive  means  by  which  the  Indians 


88 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  79 


fancy  that  they  can  keep  the  feared  spirit  at  bay,  and  which  are  the 
same  as  those  resorted  to  for  keeping  off  a  living  human  enemy. 
Thus  the  measure  to  keep  the  trophy  tied  to  the  murderous  weapon, 
the  “demoniacal  ”  chonta  lance,  the  rattling  with  the  shields  at  the 
most  important  ceremonies,  the  attempts  to  inspire  the  spirit  with 
fear  by  making  noise,  by  threatening  movements  and  dancing,  and 
to  “  wash  off  ”  its  malignity  and  desire  for  revenge  by  washing  the 
head  in  a  magical  solution,  all  illustrate,  in  different  ways,  the  prim¬ 
itive  conception  that  the  Jibaros  have  about  the  supernatural  beings 
and  the  possibility  of  influencing  them. 

It  seems  somewhat  more  difficult,  at  first  glance,  to  understand 
the  fundamental  idea  mentioned  in  the  third  place,  namely,  that  the 
trophy,  in  case  all  rites  are  properly  performed  at  the  feast,  is 
turned  into  a  real  fetish  and  becomes  a  source  of  blessing  to  the 
slayer  himself  and  his  whole  family.  The  power  which  the  trophy 
is  supposed  to  possess,  of  course,  is  due  to  the  spirit  attached  to  it, 
just  as  the  natural  magical  power  of  the  living  human  body  depends 
upon  the  soul  or  vitality  inherent  in  it.  The  souls  or  spirits  of  dead 
men  are  endowed  with  a  special  energy  and  potency,  and  among  the 
Jibaros,  as  among  other  South  American  Indians,  all  gods,  spirits, 
and  demons  seem  to  be  nothing  but  departed  human  souls.  From 
this  point  of  view  there  is  hardly  anything  strange  in  the  idea  that 
the  spirit  of  the  killed  enemy,  over  which  the  victor  has  acquired 
complete  domination,  is  able  to  confer  upon  him  all  those  material 
blessings  which  are  mentioned  as  the  most  important  effects  of  the 
tsantsa.  Among  many  Indian  tribes  in  Ecuador  and  elsewhere  there 
prevails  the  custom  that  the  surviving  relatives  offer  a  special  cult 
to  the  deceased  family  father,  in  which  different  kinds  of  food, 
drinks,  etc.,  are  laid  upon  his  tomb.  In  case  the  departed  spirit  is 
satisfied  with  this  cult,  he  is  believed  to  reward  his  loving  relatives 
by  making  their  fields  flourish  and  bear  fruit,  and  by  increasing  their 
domestic  animals;  that  is,  by  bestowing  exactly  the  same  benefits  as 
are  expected  from  the  head  trophy  duly  initiated.  The  difference 
between  this  religious  act  and  the  mode  of  treating  the  spirit  of  a 
slain  enemy  adopted  by  the  Jibaro  Indians  appears  to  be  that  in 
the  former  case  we  are  dealing  with  a  real  cult  with  offerings,  while 
in  the  latter  we  are  dealing  with  a  purely  magical  conjuration  which 
is  supposed  to  exert  an  irresistible  force  upon  the  being  to  be  in¬ 
fluenced.  That  the  Jibaros  consider  the  latter  means  the  more 
effective  appears  from  the  extraordinary  importance  ascribed  to  the 
so-called  tsantsa  feast.  Some  of  the  ceremonies  at  this  feast  also,  as 
we  have  seen,  have  for  their  object  to  increase  by  artificial  means 
the  natural  power  of  the  trophy,  in  much  the  same  way  that  an 
electric  battery  is  charged  with  electric  force. 


KARSTENJ 


BLOOD  REVENGE,  WAR,  AND  VICTORY  LEASTS 


89 


A  curious  idea  appears  in  the  tsantsa  feast,  in  that  the  victor  him¬ 
self  on  the  one  hand  is  believed  to  be  in  danger  from  the  spirit  of 
the  killed  enemy,  but  on  the  other  hand,  on  account  of  his  having 
gained  possession  of  the  enemy’s  head,  is  invested  with  a  special 
mysterious  power.  Moreover,  he  is  able  to  transfer  this  power  by 
contact  to  other  persons  and  to  things.  This  explains  why  the  victor 
must,  in  the  way  that  we  have  seen,  assist,  for  instance,  at  the  brew¬ 
ing  of  the  manioc  wine  for  the  feast  and  at  the  preparation  of  the 
sacred  drink  natema.  Similarly,  something  of  his  power  is  trans¬ 
ferred  to  his  wife  and  daughter  and  may,  through  them,  become 
effective  in  agriculture  and  in  other  departments  of  life. 

With  a  similar  mysterious  power  the  priest  ( whuea )  and  the  priest¬ 
ess  ( ohdha )  are  endowed.  As  a  “  priest  ”  or  conductor  of  the  cere¬ 
monies  at  the  feast,  as  stated  before,  only  an  old  warrior  can  officiate, 
who  himself  has  killed  at  least  one  enemy  and  celebrated  a  victory 
feast.  His  insight,  experience,  valor,  and  other  prominent  military 
qualities,  acquired  during  a  long  life,  and  especially  the  magical 
power  he  has  acquired  by  slaying  his  enemies,  seems  to  be  conceived 
almost  as  a  physical  reality,  and  his  power  can,  like  that  of  the 
victor,  in  a  certain  degree  be  transferred  to  other  people.  It  is  for 
this  reason  that  he  is  always  holding  the  hand  of  the  victor  at  the 
most  important  ceremonies,  the  idea  being  that  the  action  in  question 
will  thus  attain  more  emphasis  and  importance.  The  same  holds 
good  of  the  priestess,  through  whose  cooperation  all  actions  per¬ 
formed  by  the  women,  and  particularly  by  the  wife  and  daughter  of 
the  victor,  secure  the  tone  and  stress  necessary. 

The  important  role  that  the  women  in  general  play  at  this  feast 
of  the  warriors  is  naturally  due  to  the  fact  that  the  principal  object 
of  the  tsantsa  is  to  promote  those  phases  of  the  economic  life  of  the 
Indians  with  which  the  women  have  most  to  do ;  first  of  all,  agri¬ 
culture  and  the  increase  of  the  domestic  animals. 

The  tsantsa  of  the  Jibaro  Indians,  thus,  is  not  a  u  trophy  ”  in  the 
common  sense  of  the  word;  not  exclusively  a  mark  of  distinction  or 
a  visible  proof  that  an  enemy  has  been  killed.  The  Jibaro  warrior 
not  only  tries  to  take  the  life  of  his  enemy,  but  above  everything 
wants  to  secure  control  of  his  soul.  Conformably  to  this,  the  so- 
called  einsupani  is  not  merely  a  victory  feast  in  the  sense  familiar  to 
us,  but  at  the  same  time,  and  first  of  all,  a  kind  of  mystery  feast 
which,  when  we  are  able  to  penetrate  into  its  real  meaning,  throws 
an  interesting  light  not  only  upon  the  social  life  of  these  Indians 
in  general  and  the  ideas  they  connect  with  their  wars,  but  also  upon 
their,  in  some  respects,  rather  far-reaching  religious  views. 

2119°— 23 - 7 


‘ 


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A 


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. 

■ 


- 


V 

INDEX 


Adornment —  Page. 

ear  tubes _ 25,  26 

for  the  feast _  62,  67-68 

In  dressing  ceremony _  83 

necklaces _ 25,  26 

See  Dress  ;  Painting. 

Adultery,  punishment  for -  10 

Agouti,  as  food _  45 

Ancestors,  spirits  of,  called  “  Old 

Ones  ” _ ,  23 

Animals — 

belief  in  relationship  with _  33 

heads  of,  used  as  trophies _ 32-34 

Arrows,  poisoned,  use  of _  7 

Bananas,  for  the  victory  feast _  50 

Baskets,  made  for  the  victory  feast-  50 
Bathing — 

after  the  dance _  70,  73,  83,  86 

for  purification _  42 

of  warriors _  34 

Belt — 

object  of _  26 

of  boa  skin _  25 

Benches,  bamboo _  49 

See  Seats. 

Birds — 

oelief  concerning _  45 

kind  of,  eaten  by  warriors _  44 

songs  addressed  to _  80 

Blood  of  chicken — 

ceremonial  use  of _ 35,  36 

magic  power  of _  39 

Blowpipes,  used  in  hunting _  7,  44 

Boa  serpent,  belief  concerning _  61 

Body  painting _  62,  67,  86 

instrument  used  for _  43 

reason  for - 25,  39 

washing  off  of _  46 

with  blood _  37 

with  tobacco  juice _  68 

Boys — 

education  of _  2 

part  taken  by,  at  dance _  69 

Burial  of  those  killed  by  the 

lance _  28 

Canelos  Indians — 

customs  of,  in  marking  shield _  7 

relations  of,  with  whites _  15 

trap  of _  5 

wars  of  extermination  against-  14 

Cap,  of  monkey  skin _  25 

Ceremonies — ■ 

conjuration _ 51-56 

connected  with  head  trophy _  75 

dressing - 83-84 

fundamental  ideas  of _ 87-89 

object  of -  65 

of  cutting  hair _  86 


Ceremonies — Continued.  Page. 

of  making  manioc  wine _ 56-60 

of  painting  with  blood _  37 

of  placing  seats _  74 

of  reducing  head  trophy _  30 

of  shield _ 75,  84 

of  skinning  the  head  trophy _ 29—30 

purification _ 35-38 

“  Washing  of  the  blood  ” _ 35,  36 

with  heated  stones _ 60-61 

See  Body  painting  ;  Dance  ; 

EnEma  ;  Feasts  ;  Tobacco. 

Chant  to  the  tiger _ 53-54 

Chickens — 

blood  of,  used  in  ceremony _  35,  36-37 

breeding  of,  for  feast _  39 

magic  power  of  blood  of _  39 

main  di*h  at  feast _  38 

preparation  of,  for  feast _  82 

Chiefs — 

authority  of _  8 

election  of,  for  war  only _  8,  20 

rivalry  between _  15 

wars  planned  by _  20 

Chieftainship — 

hereditary  nature  of _  8 

temporary  nature  of _  7-8 

Chonta  palm — 

belief  concerning _  6 

supernatural  power  of _  36 

Chonta  pins.  See  Pins. 

Clothing.  See  Dress. 

Compensation — 

for  death  from  illness _  10 

for  murder _  11 

Conjuration — 

for  fecundity  of  women _  52 

referring  to  game _ 51-52 

to  paralyze  danger -  51 

to  the  night  bird _  53 

Dance — 

after  purification _  39 

at  drinking  bout _  80 

hantsem&ta _  39,  67-70 

ihi&mbrama _ 37,  64 

introductory,  with  trophy _  35 

object  of _  36 

when  attacked _  27 

wuimenshi _ 55  -56 

Datura  arborea,  drink  made  from_  2,  3 
Death — 

as  a  result  of  witchcraft _  15 

beliefs  concerning _  41 

Decoration  of  shields _  7 

Deer,  belief  concerning _ 41 , 45 

Defense,  means  of _  3-7 

Dieting.  See  Fasting;  Food; 

Taboos. 


91 


92 


INDEX 


Page. 

Diseases,  contagious,  beliefs  con¬ 
cerning _ _  9—10 

Dress — 

attention  paid  to _  24 

ceremonial  character  of,  at 

feasts _  24 

for  war _ ! -  25 

normal _ 24-25 

of  guest  at  feast _  62 

of  slayer,  after  purification _  40 

of  victor _ 35,  40 

of  women  for  feast _  62 

See  Adornment  ;  Belt  ;  Cap  ; 
Ornaments. 

Dressing  ceremony _ S3,  84 

Drinking  bouts _ 65,  80 

Drinks— 

narcotic -  2,  3 

sacred,  preparation  of _ 70-72 

See  Manioc  beer  ;  Manioc  wine. 

Drum,  beating  of,  as  signal _ 5-6,  26 

Dye,  genipa.  See  Genipa. 

Dyeing  op  head  trophy _  31 

Ear  tubes — 

object  of _  26 

size  of _ _  25 

Education,  aim  of _  2 

Einsupani,  name  of  victory  feast _  48 

EnEma — 

a  magical  ceremony _  22 

meaning  of _  20 

performance  of _ 20-22 

Facial  painting,  for  the  feast _ 62,  63 

Family — 

murders  within _ 13 

responsible  for  acts  of  members-  12 
Fasting — 

at  victory  feast -  66 

breaking  of - 84-85 

by  slayer  and  family _  37 

observation  of _ 46,  47 

Feast,  numbuimartinyu — 

ceremony  connected  with _  35 

food  served  at _  38 

object  of - 39 

Feast,  suamartinyu — 

like  the  tsantsa  feast -  43 

object  of _ 43,  46 

of  painting  with  genipa _ 43-47 

Feast,  victory.  See  Victory  feast. 

Feather  ornaments _  62 

Fetish,  trophy  turned  into _  88 

Feuds — 

effect  of _  1 

method  of  attack _  18 

Fire,  use  of,  in  warfare _  26 

Fish — 

as  food,  beliefs  concerning _  45 

mythological  ideas  regarding _  45 

Fishing,  for  the  victory  feast _  50 

Food — 

beliefs  concerning _  45 

eaten  after  fasting _  38 

eaten  by  slayer _  19 

of  warriors _  34 

special,  for  slayer _  38 


Food — Continued.  Page. 

special,  reasons  for _  40 

See  Agouti  ;  Bananas  ;  Birds  ; 

Chickens;  Diet;  Fasting; 

Feast;  Fish;  Manioc; 

Monkey  flesh  ;  Paca ; 

Swine;  Taboos. 

Genipa — 

* 

body  painted  with _ 18,  25 

ceremony  of  painting  with _  38 

dye  prepared*  from _ . _  46 

manner  of  painting  with _  43 

reason  for  painting  with _  39 

sacred  nature  of _  36 

Genipa  dye,  lasting  quality  of _  46 

Girls  allowed  at  general  dance _  69 

Greeting,  at  feast _  63 

Guayusa,  drink  made  from  leaves 

of _  37 

Habitat  of  jibaros _  1 

Hair — 

belief  concerning _ 32,  87 

ceremonial  cutting  of -  86 

of  trophy,  attention  given _  31 

of  trophy,  combing  of -  77 

soul  concentrated  in _ 31,  87 

Hairdressing _  25 

Head  feast.  See  Victory  feast. 

Head  trophy — 

a  fetish _  2,  88 

a  token  of  victory _  2,  28 

appearance  of,  after  reduction _  31 

beneficent  influence  of _  46 

bringing  home  of _  35 

ceremony  connected  with _  75 

ceremony  of  washing _  43 

from  whom  taken -  14,  28 

meaning  of _  2 

molding  the  face  of _  31 

preparation  of _ 29_32 

reduction  of - 30-31 

skill  in  preparation  of -  32 

skinning  of _ 29_30 

symbol  of  success  in  warfare —  28 

washing  of -  43,  73_77,  78 

Houses,  communal -  3 

construction  of _ * _  3-4 

IIuambiza  Indians,  war  against -  16 

Hunting  expedition,  before  feast —  50 

Insurrection  against  Spaniards —  1 

Invitations  to  victory  feast _  50 

Jaguar— 

belief  concerning _  33 

chant  to _ 53-54 

head  of,  as  trophy -  33 

.Tourney  after  victory  feast _  87 

Labor,  division  of - 12,  47 

Lance — 

described -  6 

fear  inspired  by -  28 

superstitions  concerning _  42 

trophy  tied  to _  6,  36 

Language — 

Jibaro,  examples  of _ 52-55 

Quichua,  words  from -  55 

Leave-taking  after  feast -  87 


INDEX 


93 


Page. 

Logrono,  massacre  at -  1 

“Lord  of  the  head,”  rights  of -  29 

Maikoa,  a  narcotic  drink - 2,  3,  55 

Manioc,  as  food  for  warriors _ 19,  34, 

38,  40,  44 

Manioc  beer — 

drinking  of,  at  feast-  55,  63,  65,  79-80 

made  by  women  only _  60 

object  in  drinking _  18 

preparation  of _  56,  58-60 

special  brew  of _  79 

the  national  drink _  19 

Manioc  wine — 

ceremony  of  drinking _ 45,  85 

preparation  of _  56-58,  66—67 

Marriage  customs _ 12.  37 

Massacre  of  white  population —  1 

Medicine  man,  responsibility  of -  9 

Mendoza,  massacre  at -  1 

Monkey  flesh,  taboo  concerning —  45 

Monkey  skin,  cap  of _  25 

Morona  River,  Jibaros  living  on — .  1 

Murder — 

as  a  cause  of  feuds _  10 

within  the  family -  13 

within  the  tribe _  13 

Music _ 53,  55 

Mutilation  in  warfare _  28 

Myths — 

of  the  fish  kanga _ 45—46 

of  the  sloth _  33 

Name,  native,  of  Jibaros -  1 

NATfiMA - 

narcotic  effect  of _  72 

the  sacred  drink _  70 

Nayapi,  a  Jibaro  chief -  15 

mention  of _  24 

no  feasts  given  by _  29 

Necklaces,  of  jaguar  teeth _  25 

object  of _  26 

Organization,  tribal,  lack  of _  1 

Ornament.  See  Adornment; 

Dress  ;  Painting. 

Paca,  belief  concerning _  45 

Painting,  facial  and  body _  25, 

39,  43,  46,  62,  63,  67,  68,  86 

with  blood _  37 

with  genipa  dye _  18,  25,  38,  43,  46 

with  tobacco  juice _  6S 

Palati,  a  Canelos  chief _  15 

Pastaza  River,  Jibaros  living  on _  1 

Pins,  chonta,  closing  lips  of 

trophy -  31 

magical  power  of -  32 

removal  of _  75 

Poison,  use  of _  7 

Polygamy,  practice  of _  10 

Population _  1 

Pot,  broken  clay — 

reason  for  using _  40 

used  in  head  reduction _  31 

Pottery — 

described _  49 

made  by  women _ 12,  23 

See  Pot  ;  vessels. 


Priest —  Page. 

part  taken  by,  in  ceremonies _  57, 

60,  61,  63,  64,  65,  66,  70,  74 

power  of _ * _  89 

warrior  acting  as _ T _  50 

Priestess — 

dress  of _  74 

old  woman  acting  as _ 50-51 

part  taken  by,  in  ceremonies _  56, 

58,  59,  69,  80 

power  of _  89 

Puberty  feast _  2 

Purification,  ceremonial _ 35-38 

Quichua  language,  words  from _  55 

Rattles,  snail  shell — 

as  means  of  conjuration _  63 

worn  by  women  at  dance _  35,  63,  07 

Religion,  blood  revenge  due  to _  11 

Revenge,  as  an  expression  of  jus¬ 
tice -  10 

Rifle,  beliefs  concerning _  42 

Rings,  bark,  magical  power  of _  71 

Salutation  at  the  feast _  63 

Sand,  use  of,  in  reducing  head 

trophy -  34 

Scalping,  explanation  of _  87 

See  Hair. 

Seats,  ceremonial  placing  of _  74 

See  Benches. 

Sevilla  de  Oro,  massacre  at _  1 

Shells,  snail,  rattles  of _  35,  63,  67 

Shield — 

ceremony  of _ 75,  84 

customs  connected  with _  6-7 

decoration  of _  7 

used  as  table  for  tsantsa _ 74-75 

Shuara,  native  name  of  Jibaros _  1 

Sickness,  ascribed  to  witchcraft _  9 

Signaling,  by  drums _ _  5-6 

SikImuro  root,  used  to  wash  tsan¬ 
tsa _  76 

Sloth — 

beliefs  concerning _  33 

head  of,  as  trophy _  33 

Snail,  shells  of,  used  for  rattles-  35,  63,  67 

Song  to  the  night  bird _  53 

Sorcery.  See  Witchcraft. 

Soul — 

control  of,  desired _  89 

transmigration  of -  61 

Spies,  activities  of _  20 

Spirits — 

consulted  before  an  attack _  17 

of  ancestors,  belief  in _  2-3 

of  enemy,  instruction  by -  47 

Superstition  s — 

concerning  animals _  33 

concerning  birds _  45 

concerning  boa _  61 

concerning  body  painting -  39 

concerning  chicken  blood _  39 

concerning  chonta  palm _  36 

concerning  deer _ 41,  45 

concerning  disease _  9_ 10 

concerning  fish _  45 

concerning  food _ 44-46 


94 


INDEX, 


Superstitions — Continued.  Page. 

concerning  hair _ 31,  32,  87 

concerning  head  trophy _  46 

concerning  jaguar -  33 

concerning  lance -  42 

concerning  paca _  45 

concerning  rifle _  42 

concerning  sloth _  33 

concerning  swine _  44 

concerning  tapir - 44-45 

governing  slayer _ ,, —  41-42 

See  Conjuration  ;  Spirits  ; 

Taboos  ;  Witchcraft. 

Swine — 

as  cause  of  quarrels _  8 

breeding  of,  for  feast _  39 

ceremonial  slaughter  of _ 80-82 

slaughter  of,  for  feast _  67 

superstitions  regarding _  44 

Taboos — 

after  purification _  40 

bathing _  34 

food _ 19,  34,  40,  44,  45,  66 

removal  of,  by  feasts -  43 

sexual _ 19,  34,  40 

Tapir,  superstitions  regarding _ 44-45 

Territory  not  taken  in  wars _  16 

Tobacco — 

ceremonial  use  of _  30, 

35,  36,  38,  64,  65,  75,  78 

painting  with  juice  of _  68 

smoked  to  combat  evil  influ¬ 
ences  _  18 

use  of,  in  puberty  ceremonies _  2 

Towers,  connected  with  houses _  4 

Transmigration  of  soul,  belief  in_  61 

Traps,  for  enemies _  4-5 

Tribes,  enmity  between _  14 

Trophy.  See  Head  trophy. 

Tsantsa.  See  Head  trophy. 
Upano-Santiago  River,  Jibaros  liv¬ 
ing  on _  1 

Vessels,  clay,  made  in  preparation 

for  feast _  48 

a  part  of  Jibaro  religion _  2 

Victory  feast — 

adornment  for _ 62,  83 

baskets  made  for _  50 

benches  made  for _  49 

benefits  derived  from _  29 

breaking  the  fast - 84-85 


Victory  feast — Continued.  Page. 

clay  vessels  made  for _ 48-49 

conjurations  at - 51-56 

dressing  the  slayer _ 83-84 

drinking  bout _ 79-80 

drinking  of  the  natema _ _ 70-73 

final  ceremony _ 86-87 

fundamental  ideas  of _ 87-89 

invitations  to _  50 

making  beer  for - 58-60 

making  wine  for _  56-58,  66-67 

preparation  for _  39,  46,  48-51 

reason  for  omitting _  29 

reception  of  guests _  63 

reception  of  victor _  64 

slaughter  of  swine _ 80-82 

technical  name  for _  48 

time  of _  48 

washing  the  tsantsa _ 73-78 

War — ■ 

causes  for _  8-16 

chieftainship  during _  8 

effect  of _  1-2 

journey  to  scene  of _  24 

methods  in _ 16-28 

of  extermination  between  tribes.  16 
War  dance — 

as  preparation  for  attack _  17 

of  the  women _  24 

War  song _  23 

to  secure  victory _  22 

War  towers,  construction  of _  4 

Warrior,  qualification  for _  3 

“  Washing  of  the  blood/’  a  puri¬ 
fication  ceremonial _  35 

performance  of _  36 

Weapons _  6-7 

Weaving,  done  by  men _  62 

WlTeHCRAFT — 

a  cause  of  war _  15 

illness  caused  by _  9 

Women — 

capture  of - 27,  28 

dress  of -  62 

greeting  of,  to  victor _  35 

heads  of,  as  tsantsas _ t  32 

important  role  of,  at  feast _  89 

labor  of _  47 

the  cause  of  feuds _  10 

Wrestling  match,  by  boys _  69 

Yaktinyu  ceremony _ 75,  84 


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E51.U58v.79 

Blood  revenge,  war,  and  victory  feasts 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


